The Anthropocene offers a lot to think about in the way of Being. Of course, the questions of how to Be and what Being means are some of humanity’s first documented memories, but their framing changes in our epoch defined by the power and impact of humans. Join me in my examination of life in the Anthropocene by seeing its… Read more »
Before participating in this class, I had no idea what the word Anthropocene meant. I had heard of global warming, but was ignorant of the size and seriousness of the issue at hand. I was exposed to a reality that was shocking at best and disturbing at worst. Through the digestion of information learned in class, I began to question… Read more »
JoeComments Off on From Bliss to Burden: Graduating to New Perspectives
On the first day of the course, after being asked to consider my motivation for taking a class on the Anthropocene, I stated my desire to gain new perspectives that would inform the way I approach life. I am pleased to report that this course has completely and utterly satisfied this goal. At first, I hadn’t the faintest idea about… Read more »
SashaComments Off on Learning to Accept Interdependence
I came into this course with a very self-centric point of view. I wanted to know what I could do in my life so that I would make a difference and do something good for the world. While my search stemmed from wanting to help others, along the way I somehow forgot about the fundamental interconnectedness of life. I shied… Read more »
Humans are unique in our ability to analyze our own position in the world. This special power comes with its limits, like our denial of our own demise. However, through exercising our own awareness and sense of agency, I believe it is possible to overcome this psychological limitation. Throughout history, art has been a key method for grappling with big-ticket… Read more »
willaj4Comments Off on Clarity Found in the Midst of Unanswered Questions
My main takeaway from our class is that I have a lot left to learn. I was waiting throughout this course to hit a point of understanding, an epiphany that would reveal to me just what it meant to be a human in the Anthropocene. What do we have to do to reverse this? What responsibilities have we incurred and… Read more »
rkittleComments Off on Surf and Turf of the Anthropocene
As I contemplated what it means and will mean to be a person in the Anthropocene, I decided that the perfect representation of hope and survival would be to decide what we will be eating in the next 50-75 years. Below, I created a recipe using sustainable, nutritious, and delicious ingredients that embody the human spirit of overcoming adversity with… Read more »
You’ve likely seen the famous Norman Rockwell quartet from 1943: the freedom series. The work has always affected me—I’m a sucker for realism, how the artist grasps light, the details of fabric fold and skin’s ripple. Note the prominent vein on a knuckle, the crispy glisten of Grandma’s holiday fowl. (Putting aside the obvious lack of racial and socioeconomic diversity—considering… Read more »
cbacon16Comments Off on Disillusionment: Seeing the Earth as it Is
Creative Project Link I sought to illustrate “Earth as it is”, and the trajectory on which humanity, and industrialized, individualistic societies in particular, has been on to create and perpetuate our current ecological and social condition. It is our prerogative as members of the global North to become aware of how our obsession with material accumulation and our ignorance of… Read more »
