https://padlet.com/dnetz1/a8nrs4plrt50kast Padlet for the session on June 3rd en-us 2021-05-31 06:42:21 UTC 2026-02-26 05:56:45 UTC hello@padlet.com dnetz1 https://padlet.com/dnetz1/a8nrs4plrt50kast/wish/1572979644 To get acquainted with some of the basic ideas behind this article before reading, check out the video below, as well as this one (featuring the lead author of the text):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlQ8122kVWw

This test is different from most of what we've been reading so far in that it is not an introduction or overview text, but a key contribution from a scientific journal.
It is a very important text in recent debates on the way human societies interact with and change their biophysical environment. At the center of the argument are the graphs on . 84-87. There is quite a lot of technical information on how the data for these graphs were chosen, collected and processed to come up with the charts. Those parts aren't all that important to us as sociologists - what's really interesting is the arguments made based on them in the second halt of the paper.

You should take some time to closely study the graphs - beyond the obvious pattern that they all show an explosive rise of all kinds of processes since around 1950, what can we learn about the commonalities and couplings, but also the differences and incoherences between different socio-economic and biophysical processes? Did everything explode from 1950 on, or are there significant differences among the processes observed? What can we learn from those? Do they support the arguments of the authors around the "Anthropocene'; or do you see reasons to disagree?

Also, try to unpack the points the authors make with respect to the debates around the interaction between human societies and the Earth System. A lot of these aren't sociological debates, but rather ones unfolding between natural and social scientists from various disciplines. Reading this from a environmental sociological perspective, what can we learn? What topics that we have encountered so far reappear here, and how do the authors approach them? How would environmental sociologists respond? One key debate to watch for here is that on questions of equity and justice (p. 91f.), but you may come across other things that we've discussed.]]> 2021-05-31 06:51:25 UTC https://padlet.com/dnetz1/a8nrs4plrt50kast/wish/1572979644 dnetz1 https://padlet.com/dnetz1/a8nrs4plrt50kast/wish/1573170287 Watch the video. Then, think about how the makers of the video use the term "Anthropocene", and how they present a story around it. How do they portray the relation between "humans" or "humanity" and the planetary biosphere? In their account, who is responsible for the current state of the earth system (does it even make sense to talk about 'responsibility' here)? What stretegy for overcoming the ecological crises of the present does the video propose? Do you agree with the statements made in the video, or where do you disagree? Do you think "Anthropocene" is a useful term for describing the current state of the world? If no, what would you say instead, and why? ]]> 2021-05-31 08:37:30 UTC https://padlet.com/dnetz1/a8nrs4plrt50kast/wish/1573170287 https://padlet.com/dnetz1/a8nrs4plrt50kast/wish/1573414055 2021-05-31 11:30:12 UTC https://padlet.com/dnetz1/a8nrs4plrt50kast/wish/1573414055