Wednesday 11th March (location, HBS room 1.69/1.70, starting at 4pm):
* Prof. Noel Castree (Department of Geography, SEED, University of
Manchester)
* Changing while standing still? Global change scientists and the politics
of planetary stewardship
* Chaired by Sarah Marie Hall

Abstract:
Initiated by geoscientists, the growing debate about the Anthropocene,
‘planetary boundaries’ and global ‘tipping points’ is a significant
opportunity for geographers to reconfigure two things: one is the internal
relationships among their discipline’s many and varied perspectives
(topical, philosophical and methodological) on the real; the other the
discipline’s actual and perceived contributions to important issues in the
wider society.

Yet, without concerted effort and struggle, the opportunity is likely to
be used in a ‘safe’ and rather predictable way by only a sub-set of
human-environment geographers. The socio-environmental challenges of a
post-Holocene world invite old narratives about Geography’s holistic
intellectual contributions to be reprised in the present. These narratives
speak well to many geoscientists, social scientists, and decision-makers
outside Geography. But they risk perpetuating an emaciated conception of
reality wherein Earth systems and social systems are seen as knowable and
manageable if the ‘right’ ensemble of expertise is achieved. I argue that
we need to get out from under the shadow of these long-standing
narratives. Using suggestive examples, I make the case for forms of
inquiry across the human-physical ‘divide’ that eschew ontological
monism and which serve to reveal the many legitimate cognitive, moral and
aesthetic framings of Earth present and future. Geography is unusual in
that the potential for these forms of inquiry to become normalised is high
compared to other subjects. This potential will only be taken advantage of
if certain human-environment geographers unaccustomed to engaging the
world of geoscience and environmental policy change their modus operandi.

Biography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noel_Castree