Participation in the event is free of charge, but registration is compulsory. The event will be in Greek and English. The official time zone for the event will be Greece time. For questions, please contact us on: lnr@enl.auth.gr or semma@enl.auth.gr.
Over the past decades, the impact of human activities on the Earth system(s) has been encapsulated in the concept of the Anthropocene, a new geological epoch that clearly marks the repercussions of human-centeredness on biotic and abiotic factors. Recent articulations of the multilayered threats to the spheres (lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere) have informed global societies, sparked the literary imagination and largely propelled a novel interest in the agency/narrative force of nature. Moreover, scientific knowledge about humanity’s symbiotic relationship with the physical environment and the focus on ecological risk have given rise to new ways of imagining the interaction between humanity and nature, and vocalized the ethical dynamics in stewardship, intergenerationality, responsibility, and systems of care. Explorations of the above interrogate Western values that include inter alia domains of privilege, masculinist assumptions of resource exploitation, representations of the non-human, etymologies of the oikos and binary thinking.
The aim of this symposium is to investigate multi-inter-and-trans-disciplinary representations of “nature” or “the environment,” and to enhance what is commonly referred to as ecological awareness. How do the Humanities address the current environmental crises? Is the Anthropocene sufficiently incorporated in curricula, classroom practices and educational policies? What are the interconnections between environmental racism, ecological crisis and justice? How do the specificities of feminine experience(s) explain ecodestruction? How do we (re)define the human in relation to a multi-species context? How can knowledge production and acts of resistance be narrated at the intersections of art, philosophy and politics? What are the trends in mitigating ecodestruction, while at the same time safeguarding environmental health? How is scientific information about ecological risk problematized in narrative?
The symposium welcomes speakers (both scholars and policy makers) who will address some of these concerns, and also involve attendees in brief Q&A sessions.