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SUMMARY:Stratigraphical discourse in the Anthropocene: towards a more crit
 ical geographical tradition - Professor Stuart Lane\, Faculté des géosci
 ences et de l'environnement\, Université de Lausanne
DTSTART:20190307T170000Z
DTEND:20190307T180000Z
UID:TALK110185@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:45781
DESCRIPTION:In the earth\, environmental and even social sciences\, the An
 thropocene has become common parlance for capturing the profound and far-r
 eaching impacts of humans upon their environment. In its most narrow inter
 pretation\, but the one dominating the earth sciences\, it has become desc
 ribed as rupture in records of sediment deposition\, ie stratigraphy\, com
 monly found in previous geological eras. This time it is attributed to hum
 ans. There is no doubt that we have introduced new products (eg/ radionucl
 ides\, plastics) into the stratigraphic record. But others want to go furt
 her and have argued that we have dramatically changed rates of sediment fl
 ux to lakes and oceans\, changes that will be detectable in the rock recor
 d for millions of years to come. In this talk\, I will show how confused s
 ome earth scientists (including physical geographers) have become in their
  ‘stratigraphical discourse’. Using one of the first studies of strati
 graphy in the making (in Lake Geneva)\, I will argue for an alternative an
 d multi-scalar view of the Anthropocene\, better reflecting the ways in wh
 ich human-driven processes\, from the global to the local\, interact to dr
 ive the development of stratigraphy. Drawing upon work that touched Geogra
 phy some decades ago\, I call this ‘glocalization’. Following the idea
 s of philosopher of science Isabelle Stengers\, I will show how a geograph
 ical imagination challenges the globalizing tendencies of the Anthropocene
  which tend to draw attention away from deeper and more local drivers of t
 he catastrophic environmental degradation that the plant is now facing.
LOCATION:Large Lecture Theatre\, Department of Geography\, Downing Site
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