Panel discussion and workshop

30 November 2023, Thursday, 13.00-16.30, Södertörn University, Stockholm
Room F11 (only on-site)

The Anthropocene was coined as a scientific concept. However, failing so far to garner scientific consensus from the natural sciences, it has already been condemned by the social sciences as universalist, arrogant and potentially oppressive. At the same time, it has been claimed by popular imagination as a proxy for a modern world spinning out of control. If anything, the Anthropocene is a rich source of dichotomies and contradictions. The allure of its somewhat abstract and contentious nature is that it invites to puzzle together perspectives from the natural and social sciences, humanities and arts, as well as practical and Indigenous knowledges. In this panel discussion and workshop, we set out to explore how the idea of the Anthropocene encompasses – and disrupts – various temporalities and spatialities, as seen from these various angles.

The panel discussion will be followed by an in-depth experiential workshop where we will explore how we practice (or reject) the concept in our work (academic, artistic or practical) within, between and outside of the disciplines. We will be guided by two questions: How do we understand our connections to time and place as they unravel? How do we, across disciplines and walks of life, actively practice the futures and places worth living in?

The aim of the workshop is to experience and learn from each other’s practices and perspectives, to cross-pollinate and inspire our work.

The event is jointly coordinated and moderated by doctoral students at the department of Environment, Development and Sustainability Studies and Centre for Baltic and East European Studies (Södertörn University) and at the Centre for Environment and Development Studies Research Forum (CEMUS/CEFO, Uppsala University).

Questions? Contact tatiana.sokolova@sh.se

Programme (tentative):
13.00 Panel presentations and discussion
14.15 Fika
14.30 Workshop
16.00 Summary
16.30 End
17.00 (Optional) ‘After the Anthropocene?’: informal screening and discussion of a film (to be chosen) at Södertörn University (with popcorn and snacks)

Bartira Fortes is a doctoral student, whose project invesigates the use of media by the Indigenous people of the Amazon for mobilisation. Her artistic work has focused on identity, xenophobia, racism, sexism and violence. Through what she terms ‘sonorous activism’, she has explored the relationship between music and ‘otherness’. Bartira will talk about the Indigenous knowledges and perspectives on the Anthropocene.

Elinor Andrén is associate professor in environmental science. She uses paleoecological methods to assess the speed and trajectory of change in ecosystems of the past with timescales from decades to millennia, reconstructing long-term natural changes to understand and date environmental impacts of humans through time. As geologist, she is interested in the Anthropocene's potential to replace Holocene, the Baltic Sea being is one of 12 sites considered for defining it as a potential new geological epoch in which we live.

Vegan Flava (to be confirmed) is a visual activist who creates poetic visual works with materials and canvases as diverse as city walls, paper, frozen lakes and snow. His work awakens sharp awareness of the losses and dangers that the Anthropocene brings in its wake, the fragility of human and animal experience. He will take us on an exploration of what it means to live in the Anthropocene through his art.

Wild card! Our fourth contributor will be announced later.

Warmly welcome! Tatiana, Laila, Oldouz, Isak, Bartira and Helen