The Anthropocene Monument
Workshop with Bronislaw Szerszynski
27.04.2016 16:00 – 18:00
Location: Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society, LMU Munich, Germany
This event has been organized as part of the RCC's Environmental Studies Certificate Program
Bronislaw Szerszynski's research draws on the social and natural sciences, arts, and humanities, in order to situate the changing relationship between humans, environment, and technology in the longer perspective of human and planetary history.
In this workshop he will draw on examples from his recent work on the Anthropocene. In reference to Chakrabarty’s proposition that the Anthropocene entails the union of the time of the earth and the time of history, Szerszynski asks whether this is indeed a fusion of two distinct temporal registers. Are humans facing the awe-inspiring presence of geological forces in a monumental time on earth? He explores such questions in relation to changing cultural perspectives on human and earth histories, and the role of natural and man-made monuments in Western culture. He continues with an exploration into the semiotic grammar involved in how natural formations such as geologic strata are addressed, and how a monument to the Anthropocene entails discussions of our perspectives on a new geological epoch and conventional monumental aesthetics.
The workshop will take place in RCC´s conference room on the 4th floor. Reading materials will be sent out prior to the event—if you are interested in recieving these please contact ursula.muenster@rcc.lmu.de.