HRC Hosts CHCI 2012 Annual Conference on 'Anthropocene Humanities'
The Humanities Research Centre is currently hosting a major global conference on humanities and climate change as part of the 2012 Annual Meeting of Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes (CHCI). This is the first time in over a decade that the annual meeting of this consortium is being held in the southern hemisphere.
The Annual Meeting theme and title, 'Anthropocene Humanities', refers to a concept propounded by Nobel Prize-winning scientist Paul J. Crutzen in 2000 to emphasize the central role of humankind in transforming the planet's ecological and geological make up. In recent years, we have seen a groundswell of interest among humanities scholars in addressing the challenge of climate change and other environmental problems. The Annual Meeting is designed to generate stimulating interdisciplinary dialogue on this timely and important topic.
A series of events and lectures are a major feature of the conference and include a public lecture by Professor Ross Garnaut, author of the Australia’s Climate Change review, keynote lectures from international academics and an art exhibition on Antarctica to be inaugurated by Professor Tom Griffiths the renowned ANU historian of Antarctica.