The Geological Turn: The Anthropocene and How We Tell History

Time: 3:30 - 5:00 pm

Location: Drexel University, Papadakis Integrated Sciences Building (PISB), Room 103, 3245 Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia, PA

Scientists tell us the Earth has entered a new epoch: the Anthropocene. What we are facing is not only an environmental crisis, but a geological revolution of human origin. In two centuries, our planet has tipped into a state unknown for millions of years. Human history and Earth history are now commensurable and entangled. Beyond environmental history, what does this geological turn do to historical research? After decade of a “social-only” paradigm in the social sciences and humanities, how can we explore and tell the joint history of human societies and of the Earth system?

Christophe Bonneuil is Chargé de recherche at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique and a member of the Centre Alexandre-Koyré at the EHESS (L'École des hautes études en sciences sociales), Paris, France.

This event is free and open to the public.