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  • Szerszynski - The Anthropocene monument

    Rights statement: The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, European Journal of Social Theory, 20 (1), 2017, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2017 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the European Journal of Social Theory page: http://journals.sagepub.com/est on SAGE Journals Online: http://journals.sagepub.com/

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The Anthropocene monument: on relating geological and human time

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published
<mark>Journal publication date</mark>1/02/2017
<mark>Journal</mark>European Journal of Social Theory
Issue number1
Volume20
Number of pages21
Pages (from-to)111-131
Publication StatusPublished
Early online date20/01/17
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

In the Parthenon frieze, the time of mortals and the time of gods seem to merge. Dipesh Chakrabarty has argued that with the advent of the Anthropocene the times of human history and of the Earth are similarly coming together. Are humans entering the ‘monumental time’ of the Earth, to stand alongside the Olympian gods of the other geological forces? In this paper I first look at the cultural shifts leading to the modern idea of separate human and Earth histories. I examine the changing use of monuments to mediate between human and other temporalities. I explore the use of ‘stratigraphic sections’ as natural monuments to mark transitions between the major time units of Earth history, and the erection of intentional monuments nearby. I suggest that the Anthropocene, as a geological epoch-in-the-making, may challenge the whole system of monumental semiotics used to stabilise our way of thinking about deep time.

Bibliographic note

The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, European Journal of Social Theory, 20 (1), 2017, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2017 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the European Journal of Social Theory page: http://journals.sagepub.com/est on SAGE Journals Online: http://journals.sagepub.com/