Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Artist Statement
The Anthropocene presents significant environmental problems for both humans and nonhumans alike, as both climate change and mass extinction are ongoing phenomena. While mass extinction represents the direct death and loss of multitudes of species, climate change represents the threat of death and loss to human populations. Thus, mass extinction and climate change may be termed the losses of the Anthropocene; much environmental writing voices an unprocessed grief directed towards each of these losses. Yet in order for grief to become mourning—an active response to loss—the loss must be recognized and dealt with. The example set by death practices may provide a path to coping with the losses of the Anthropocene in order to avoid a passive response; it is crucial to bear witness to these losses in order to recognize their stakes and develop cultural practices which allow them to be processed. Conceptualizing the Anthropocene as a project in death allows overwhelming emotion to be replaced by affect.
I develop my argument through a survey of death practices, sociological and psychological analyses’ of the Anthropocene; and literary analysis on several cultural objects which respond to the Anthropocene. Specifically, I analyze The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert, We’re Doomed, Now What by Roy Scranton, Flight Ways by Thom Van Dooren, the Remembrance Day for Lost Species, and the work done by the Dark Mountain Project. These works range from journalistic, to essayistic, to artistic; yet each in some way attempts to grapple with the emotions generated by the Anthropocene.
Loss can and will affect most people who continue to live through the Anthropocene, yet it cannot be allowed to produce a state of emotional and affective paralysis by overwhelming individuals and cultures. Several recent academic works explore the emotional work of the Anthropocene—the grief of the loss of species, loved places, and a sense of security—yet no model has been presented for how we may deal with the strong emotions generated by loss in the Anthropocene, and it is this gap that “Death in the Anthropocene” seeks to fill. The losses of the Anthropocene can be dealt with in the same way that the death of a loved one can be dealt with; through recognition and engaged practices.
Mentor Name
Ashby Kinch
Death in the Anthropocene: Coping with Loss in the Age of Extinction and Civilizational Collapse
UC 331
The Anthropocene presents significant environmental problems for both humans and nonhumans alike, as both climate change and mass extinction are ongoing phenomena. While mass extinction represents the direct death and loss of multitudes of species, climate change represents the threat of death and loss to human populations. Thus, mass extinction and climate change may be termed the losses of the Anthropocene; much environmental writing voices an unprocessed grief directed towards each of these losses. Yet in order for grief to become mourning—an active response to loss—the loss must be recognized and dealt with. The example set by death practices may provide a path to coping with the losses of the Anthropocene in order to avoid a passive response; it is crucial to bear witness to these losses in order to recognize their stakes and develop cultural practices which allow them to be processed. Conceptualizing the Anthropocene as a project in death allows overwhelming emotion to be replaced by affect.
I develop my argument through a survey of death practices, sociological and psychological analyses’ of the Anthropocene; and literary analysis on several cultural objects which respond to the Anthropocene. Specifically, I analyze The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert, We’re Doomed, Now What by Roy Scranton, Flight Ways by Thom Van Dooren, the Remembrance Day for Lost Species, and the work done by the Dark Mountain Project. These works range from journalistic, to essayistic, to artistic; yet each in some way attempts to grapple with the emotions generated by the Anthropocene.
Loss can and will affect most people who continue to live through the Anthropocene, yet it cannot be allowed to produce a state of emotional and affective paralysis by overwhelming individuals and cultures. Several recent academic works explore the emotional work of the Anthropocene—the grief of the loss of species, loved places, and a sense of security—yet no model has been presented for how we may deal with the strong emotions generated by loss in the Anthropocene, and it is this gap that “Death in the Anthropocene” seeks to fill. The losses of the Anthropocene can be dealt with in the same way that the death of a loved one can be dealt with; through recognition and engaged practices.