The University of California, Berkeley History of Art Department Presents
2022 Department Lecture Series
VISITING SCHOLARS ROUNDTABLE
Stephanie Su, Jordan Troeller, and Katrien C. Verbeke
Friday, March 11, 2022, 12:00PM – 1:30PM (9PM CET)
In-Person and Zoom Event: 308A Doe Memorial Library
This roundtable event brings together visiting scholars Stephanie Su, Jordan Troeller, and Katrien C. Verbeke, who are on campus at UC Berkeley during the 2022 Spring Semester, to discuss aspects of their current and ongoing research projects.
VISU-member Katrien C. Verbeke will present the following research:
In recent Western history, people have predominantly believed that humans occupy a special place in the universe and have the (God-given) right to shape the environment according to their will and needs. This belief has culminated in the Anthropocene thesis adopted by earth scientists, recently claiming that “we”—the human species—have become a “force of nature” ourselves and have not only the power to shape the land we dwell on but alter the Earths' systems on a global scale. This universalizing discourse transforms us all into agents with equal responsibilities, and it is as much political as aesthetic. This research project will analyze photography's role in conceptualizing and visualizing the landscape of this so-called 'Anthropocene.' It will also identify and analyze possible counter-narratives to the dominant rhetoric that have emerged in the wake of climate change and environmental injustice. The focus will lay on the various figurations this counter-narrative could come to encompass, ranging from a critique on petrocapitalism, multi-species environmental justice to post-humanism and how they are embedded in the contemporary photographic practices.
More info and registration: https://arthistory.berkeley.edu/events/2022-visiting-scholars-roundtabl…