Anthropology of the Anthropocene: Structures, Theories, Practices is a workshop organized by the IUPUI Arts and Humanities Institute (IAHI) that brings together anthropologists and leading thinkers in policy, theory, philosophy, science, art, humanities, urban planning, and law who have been tackling the sociocultural frameworks and experiences of the Anthropocene. The goal of this workshop is to tackle large multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary questions about anthropology’s role in the Anthropocene as we collectively examine how new research methods might advance current theoretical and applied frameworks. This workshop is a project of Rivers of the Anthropocene.

Anthropology of the Anthropocene: Structures, Theories, Practices is designed to bring together anthropologists who have been tackling the sociocultural frameworks and experiences of the Anthropocene and to place them in conversation with leading thinkers in policy, theory, philosophy, science, art, humanities, urban planning, and law. The goal is to address large multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary questions about anthropology’s role in the Anthropocene and to collectively examine how new research methods might advance current theoretical and applied frameworks. The following are core-framing questions for the workshop: (1) In what ways are anthropological methods, theories, and practices responsive to the Anthropocene?; (2) How do we bridge disciplinary boundaries to advance critical and timely sociocultural research on changing earth systems and the human experience?; (3) How are we preparing the next generation of researchers with the right tools, frameworks, and language to design relevant ethnographies?; and (4) What should a publicly engaged Anthropology of the Anthropocene look like? This workshop will result in several outputs, most notably an edited volume.

This workshop is funded by the Indiana University New Frontiers in the Arts & Humanities Program and The Wenner-Gren Foundation.