Who speaks for the future of Earth? How critical social science can extend the conversation on the Anthropocene

Lövbrand, Eva; Beck, Silke; Chilvers, Jason; Forsyth, Tim; Hedrén, Johan; Hulme, Mike; Lidskog, Rolf; Vasileiadou, Eleftheria

doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.03.012

Cited by 374 publications

(270 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…As with any new socially constructed framing of human activity, the concept has been contested (Malm and Hornborg 2014, Cook et al 2015, Davison 2015, Lövbrand et al 2015 for its sweeping generalizations about human impacts to Earth. Critics argue that the homogenizing discourse ignores the reality that such impacts have been mostly generated by those engaged in, and benefiting from, postindustrialized, neoliberal economies and consumption patterns, and yet, in the immediate term, the negative impacts described will most severely affect those who have not contributed or benefited from these dominant forces (Biermann 2014, Castree 2015, Cook et al 2015.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The concept of the Anthropocene as a game-changer: a new context for social innovation and transformations to sustainability

Olsson¹,

Moore²,

Westley³

et al. 2017

E&S

142

138

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ABSTRACT. After tracing the antecedents of the concept and considering its intersection in social innovation research, we put forward the argument that the Anthropocene concept points to three areas of thought that are strategically imperative and must be accelerated if social innovation theory and practice is to prove transformative and respond to the challenges associated with the Anthropocene. First, we contend that the current debate on social innovation for sustainability lacks a deeper focus on human-environmental interactions and the related feedbacks, which will be necessary to understand and achieve large-scale change and transformations to global sustainability. Many innovations focus on only the social or the ecological, and we believe a more integrated approach will be needed moving forward. Second, social innovation research must confront the path-dependencies embedded within systems, and we propose that the act of "bricolage," which recombines existing elements in novel ways, will be essential, rather than single variable solutions, which currently dominate social innovation discussions. Finally, we put forward the idea that confronting the cross-scalar nature of the Anthropocene requires revisiting both the scope and temporal nature of social innovations that are most typically focused upon by scholars and funders alike. We believe the concept of the Anthropocene creates new opportunities for social innovation scholars to imagine new possibilities.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The concept of the Anthropocene as a game-changer: a new context for social innovation and transformations to sustainability

Olsson¹,

Moore²,

Westley³

et al. 2017

E&S

142

138

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Consequently, future Earth System Governance [50,138] has to tackle more fluently than today the known but complex and value-loaded scientific, technical, and economic issues (such as: whether science and technology is professionally 'sound', how to address responsibility for past emissions, distribution of poverty and wealth, access to resources, or opportunities for more sustainable development for some). In that situation, the laypersons' involvement in decisions [139,140] will be much needed for effectively engineering global change. Any democratic decision process in (then) possibly confusing times and governance acting in the context of bounded reality [141] will possibly need 'lay-public's engineering story-lines' that are part of peoples' perceptions (memes) [30] and will support the long-winded iterative process [65,66,142] to consciously alter both the biogeosphere and the noosphere [12].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ideal-Type Narratives for Engineering a Human Niche

Böhle

2017

Geosciences

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Abstract:Humans have built an anthropocentric biogeosphere; called: 'human niche'. Global change is part of this historical process of niche construction, which implies the intersection of the biogeosphere and the sphere of human activities of social, economic, cultural, and political natures. To construct these intersections, modern-day societies deploy 'engineered systems' and build narratives to frame these activities with purpose. This essay describes: (i) perceptions of what 'engineered systems' are about, (ii) their context such as global change, human agency, and societal implications of applied geosciences, and (iii) related narratives on how to handle global change through the design of 'engineered systems'. Subsequently, regarding underpinning insights, it is shown that they: (i) are well-known, were used in the past, and now may be applied to handle global change; (ii) enshrine a distinct choice on how human activities and the biogeosphere shall intersect; and (iii) can be described by a simple ideal-type scheme, which does not require detailed scientific-technical understanding. Subsequently, it is illustrated how this ideal-type scheme leads to different narratives about what kind of 'engineered systems' are preferred. It is concluded that such ideal-type narratives for a messy world may help a lay-public to choose between options regarding how to handle global change.

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“…3 What is clear so far is that the proclamation of the Anthropocene-the symbolic epoch of reckoning that describes 'our' collective human actions as a geological force-has vividly dispelled the prevalent myths of techno-scientific optimism and linear economic progress. Debates about the implications of the Anthropocene continue across a wealth of disciplines that range from the natural sciences to the environmental social sciences and humanities (Castree 2015;Haraway et al 2016;Lövbrand et al 2015). At the heart of this ongoing conversation is the collective attempt to understand better the complex entanglements between Nature and Society in the twenty-first century, all while being faced with the politicized notion of a looming climate apocalypse, the "Sixth Mass Extinction Event, caused by humans" (Morton 2014: 258;Swyngedouw 2011).…”

Section: Résumémentioning

confidence: 99%

Decolonizing political ecology: ontology, technology and 'critical' enchantment

Schulz

2017

Journal of Political Ecology

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Current debates about the Anthropocene have sparked renewed interest in the relationship between ecology, technology, and coloniality. How do humans relate to one another, to the living environment, and to their material or technological artifacts; and how are these relations structured by coloniality, defined not only as a material process of appropriation and subjugation, but also as an exclusionary hierarchy of knowing and being that still pervades contemporary life? While these questions have of course received attention in decolonial theory, they have also captured the interest of scholars who self-identify with the field of political ecology. However, it can be argued that political ecology still primarily adheres to research practices and paradigms that have been developed in the West, regardless of its diversity and dynamism as a field of research. It is therefore suggested that a rapprochement between decolonial theory and political ecology can open up new perspectives on current debates that are emerging around the concept of the Anthropocene. In particular, the article takes the recent interest in the ontological implications of the Anthropocene as a point of departure to bring the decolonial notion of 'border thinking' into a conversation with the so-called 'new materialism' in political ecology. While both approaches are not necessarily opposed to values grounded in rationality, they can be seen as attempts to rethink ontological divisions such as human/nature or subject/object based on 'enchanted' ways of knowing and being-in-the-world. Yet, although enchantment has the potential to counter inherently colonial practices of appropriation, commodification and objectification, it is argued that keeping a moderately critical distance to enchanted narratives is still recommended, not because of the alleged naïveté of such narratives, but rather because enchantments may also function as and through technologies of power. Key words: Anthropocene; political ecology; decoloniality; new materialism; border thinking; ontology; enchantment RésuméLes débats récents sur l'anthropocène soulignent un nouveau intérêt scientifique pour les relations complexes entre la écologie, la technologie, et le colonialisme. Comment est-ce que l'humanité se rapportent les uns envers les autres, à leur milieu de vie et à leurs objets physiques et techniques, et comment ces relations sont-ils structurées par le colonialisme, non seulement définies comme un processus matériel de l'appropriation et de l'assujettissement, mais aussi comme une hiérarchie d'exclusion de la connaissance et de l'être, qui imprègne encore la vie contemporaine? Bien que ces questions étaient naturellement traitées dans la théorie de la décolonialisme, ils ont également suscité l'intérêt des scientifiques, qui se disent les écologistes politiques. Néanmoins, on peut affirmer que l'écologie politique suivie encore des pratiques et paradigmes de recherche occidentaux, mais il est un domaine diversifié de la recherche. Il est donc proposé qu'un rappro...

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Who speaks for the future of Earth? How critical social science can extend the conversation on the Anthropocene

Cited by 374 publications

References 43 publications

The concept of the Anthropocene as a game-changer: a new context for social innovation and transformations to sustainability

The concept of the Anthropocene as a game-changer: a new context for social innovation and transformations to sustainability

Ideal-Type Narratives for Engineering a Human Niche

Decolonizing political ecology: ontology, technology and 'critical' enchantment

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