The controversial designation “Anthropocene” names a geological epoch in which the planet has been irrevocably changed by human activity. In this panel, three thinkers consider the ways in which the Anthropocene requires us to reconsider both human self-identity and the human capacity for creation and destruction. Is art a narcissistic reflection of human concerns and desires or might it provide a model for dynamic and interactive responses to the global challenges which we face?
Matthew Griffiths has recently completed a PhD at Durham University on the poetics of climate change. He has published articles on T. S. Eliot, Wallace Stevens and Basil Bunting, as well as a pamphlet of his own poetry, How to be Late, and a science fiction novel, The Weather on Versimmon. He presently works on a built environment trade journal.
Gaia Vince (@WanderingGaia) is the author of Adventures in the Anthropocene. She is a journalist and broadcaster specialising in science and the environment. She has been the front editor of the journal Nature Climate Change, the news editor of Nature and online editor of New Scientist. She has a regular column, Smart Planet, on BBC Online, and devises and presents programmes about the Anthropocene for BBC radio. She blogs at WanderingGaia.com.
Kathryn Yusoff is a Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at Queen Mary, University of London. Her current research addresses questions of ‘Geologic Life’ within the proposed geologic epoch of the Anthropocene.
Danielle Sands is a Fellow at the Forum for European Philosophy.
Update, Tuesday 3 February: Sarah Wood will no longer be speaking as part of this panel due to unforeseen circumstances.
The Forum for European Philosophy (@LSEPhilosophy ) is an educational charity which organises and runs a full and varied programme of philosophy and interdisciplinary events in the UK.
This event forms part of the LSE Space for Thought Literary Festival 2015, taking place from Monday 23 - Saturday 28 February 2015, with the theme 'Foundations'.
Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSElitfest
Podcast
A podcast of this event is available to download from The Human Age? Art and Identity in the Anthropocene
Podcasts and videos of many LSE events can be found at the LSE Public Lectures and Events: podcasts and videos channel.