ANTHROPOCENE

On what knowledge does the future of humanity on our planet depend? What science do we need in order to address the challenges of the Anthropocene? These are two central questions Jürgen Renn has raised in his recent The Evolution of Knowledge: Rethinking Science for the Anthropocene (2020). In this seminar, scholars of Renn’s Anthropocene working group (from the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin) will present to students the scientific and cultural problems underlying the possible introduction of a new periodization category in geology, ‘Anthropocene’. This term is referred to a geological epoch that is marked by the in-depth transformation of the earthly system through the technological unfolding of the capacities of human society. The debates on this problematic have reached far beyond specialists’ discussions and force us to radically reassess the interrelation between humankind and the world, between human history and geological deep time, as well as between the natural sciences, technology and the humanities.

• To introduce students to key problems of the ongoing Anthropocene debate;
• To address crucial themes of environmental philosophy, specifically the problem of science, technology and society in the age of Anthropocene;
• To improve students’ capacity to critically analyze and discuss interdisciplinary sources of environmental humanities and interpret them.

• Enthusiasm and readiness to engage with challenging interdisciplinary discussions and readings;
• Knowledge of English in order to read the materials and participate in the discussion.

This class is divided into two meeting:
Seminar discussion based on 2 papers (one per session) shared with the students through moodle in advance.

Reference texts

• Two essays in environmental philosophy and environmental politics in the age of Anthropocene (shared through moodle)
• Non-mandatory texts, which are relevant for this seminar include:
- Jürgen Renn, The Evolution of Knowledge: Rethinking Science for the Anthropocene (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2020);
- Pietro Daniel Omodeo, Political Epistemology: The Problem of Ideology in Science Studies (Dordrecht: Springer, 2019).

The students’ preparation will be verified through
- their active participation in the seminar,
- a written essay, in which they discuss secondary literature on the Anthropocene (the texts will be made available to them in due time).

Methodology: Seminar discussion based on 2 papers (one per session) by the lecturers, which will be circulated in advance.

Ca’ Foscari applica la Legge Italiana (Legge 17/1999; Legge 170/2010) per i servizi di supporto e di accomodamento disponibili agli studenti con disabilità o con disturbi specifici dell’apprendimento. Se hai una disabilità motoria, visiva, dell’udito o altre disabilità (Legge 17/1999) o un disturbo specifico dell’apprendimento (Legge 170/2010) e richiedi supporto (assistenza in aula, ausili tecnologici per lo svolgimento di esami o esami individualizzati, materiale in formato accessibile, recupero appunti, tutorato specialistico a supporto dello studio, interpreti o altro) contatta l’ufficio Disabilità e DSA disabilita@unive.it.

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