Planetary Genealogies in Russia and Eastern Europe

Planetary Genealogies in Russia and Eastern Europe
Historicizing (Neglected) Sources of the Anthropocene, 22-23 May 2025, Venice

View over Pyramiden, an abandoned Soviet coal mining settlement on Svalbard, Norway.

Workshop

In addressing the planetary crisis embodied in the concept of the Anthropocene, it is essential to revive some of the fascinating perspectives and historical genealogies that have considered the complex and multifaceted relationships between humanity and the geospheres in earlier times.

Indeed, when Paul Crutzen and Eugene Stoermer formally introduced the term Anthropocene in the newsletter of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) in 2000, they sought to trace the historical, cultural, scientific and philosophical roots of our current understanding of the human-geological relationship. They suggested that awareness of human impact on global nature is not new, but rather goes back in time. In particular, they mentioned George P. Marsh, who described the impact of humans on changing the Earth's surface, Antonio Stoppani, who introduced the notion of the anthropozoic era, and Vladimir Vernadsky, who, a few decades later, referred to the noosphere as a novel entity representing human thought as the most powerful planetary force. Building on the tradition initiated by the French naturalist Buffon in the 18th century, these thinkers became part of the official folklore in introducing the concept of the Anthropocene.

While this literature includes only a few figures, it completely ignores the work of many others who are either not part of mainstream science or only loosely connected to current debates. The result is a deficiency in our understanding of the vast scope of early recognition of planetary-scale changes underway as a result of anthropogenic activity.

This workshop aims to fill this gap by exploring the works and historical contexts of people and places that have been marginalized or forgotten in the current scholarly literature on the Anthropocene. We have chosen to limit the geographical and geopolitical scope of these sources to Russia and the Soviet Union, including Central and Eastern Europe. We believe that the focus on Eastern contributions adds a unique perspective, given the diverse cultural, scientific and philosophical traditions in this part of the world. While this will be a valuable opportunity to bring to light previously unknown (con)texts of the Anthropocene – for example, by resurfacing texts that have never been translated into English – we also encourage consideration of the circulation of ideas between Eastern and Western countries, as well as the epistemological and historical lineages that have shaped these ideas. Moreover, we do not mean to imply that the authors and sources presented must necessarily be unknown to the general academic public. What is important in this context are the rather overlooked parts of their work that are now becoming scientifically and intellectually relevant in light of the challenge of the Anthropocene.

By tracing some of the contemporary reflections on the rise of humanity as a geological force, we also gain further insight into the cultural and ideological drivers that have pushed the planet onto an Anthropocene trajectory. In doing so, such a renewed focus on forgotten writings not only promotes a fuller and more inclusive history, but also improves our understanding of the origins and triggers of the Anthropocene, and the path dependencies, curses, and possible opportunities that modernity has brought to the present and future planet.

This workshop will bring together scholars from a variety of educational backgrounds who are interested in tracing historical genealogies of planetary and anthropocene thinking, primarily in the following fields, but not limited to:

  • Earth System Thinking
  • Climate Science
  • Geohistory
  • Nuclear History
  • Geoanthropology
  • Biosphere Theories
  • Energetics and Energy Transformations
  • Anthropocosmism
  • Indigenous Knowledge and Perspectives from Russia and the Far East
  • Global Environmental Politics
  • Education
  • Planetary Perspectives in Art and Culture.

Programme

Programme schedule

Full programme 22-23/05/2025

Where

Ca’ Foscari University of Venice 

When

22-23 May 2025

Participants

  • Mieka Erley, Colgate University
  • Marco Vianna Franco, Goldsmiths University of London
  • Elena Fratto, Princeton University
  • Clemens Günther, Freie Universität Berlin
  • Yvonne Howell, University of Richmond
  • Philipp Kohl, LMU Munich
  • Julia Lajus, Smithsonian Institution
  • Marko Marila, Ca' Foscari University of Venice
  • Doubravka Olsakova, Charles University Prague
  • Pietro Daniel Omodeo, Ca' Foscari University of Venice
  • Pietro Restaneo, CNR Rome
  • Giulia Rispoli, Ca' Foscari University of Venice
  • Christoph Rosol, MPIGEA Jena
  • Daniela Russ, Universität Leipzig
  • Benjamin Steininger, MPIGEA Jena
  • Oxana Timofeeva, University of Copenhagen

Team

Partners

Ca' Foscari University of Venice - Department od Philosophy and Cultural Heritage
THE NEW INSTITUTE Centre for Environmental Humanities (NICHE) at Ca' Foscari University of Venice
Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology (MPIGA)

Workshop organisers

Giulia Rispoli

Giulia Rispoli

Ca' Foscari University of Venice

Marko Mikael Marila

Marko Mikael Marila

Ca' Foscari University of Venice

Partners

Benjamin Steininger

Benjamin Steininger

Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology

Christoph Rosol

Christoph Rosol

Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology