!! FOR REASONS BEYOND OUR CONTROL, WE HAVE BEEN FORCED TO POSTPONE THE CONFERENCE ON 27 JUNE. THE NEW DATE WILL BE ANNOUNCED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. !!

A conference organised as part of the "Terra incognita" series, a research and creation project on new environmental narratives

Speaker: Stéphane Héritier Lecturer-Researcher - University Professor

The forms of the environmental crisis that have been articulated in different ways for nearly half a century are now reflected in a notion that seems intuitively understandable: the Anthropocene. Nevertheless, some scientists are still wondering whether it is appropriate to use this term to describe a geological turning point, i.e. the transition from one geological era to another. Others defend the opinion that the presence and increasing power of human activities and technological capabilities have led to disruptions in all the elements that make up the planet and its atmosphere, resulting in systemic changes and upsets to the existing equilibrium. 

These disruptions, caused by human activity over the long term, have led to the current state of shock, leaving part of humanity stunned by the effects of global pollution, the predicted scarcity of resources, climate change, pollution and the associated prospects of collapse. However, despite the eco-anxiety produced by us (humans), this should not leave us in a state of stupefaction and inaction. 

Thanks to historians, archaeologists and palaeontologists, an analysis of the long term shows that the incorporation of environmental changes has given rise to multiple ways of reading the evolution of the world and its geographical changes. Whatever the period, horizons of explanation, justification, expectation or hope have been found and/or created. The current challenge is to think together about how to produce convergent, even shared, narratives in a fractured world where inequalities remain profound.

The aim of the presentation is to share the ways in which the Anthropocene, both its scientific approach and its dissemination, are helping to give rise to a plurality of narratives.

The lecture will be followed by a round-table discussion with Stéphane Héritier (geographer, Université Grenoble Alpes); Lise Landrin (geographer, Université du Luxembourg, Belval); Estelle Evrard (geographer, Université du Luxembourg, Belval) and Julie Arménio (Compagnie d'art Ru'elles).