Geology of the Present

Publication series Das Neue Alphabet (The New Alphabet), Volume 17
Editors: Niklas Hoffmann-Walbeck, Katrin Klingan, Georg Schäfer
Publisher: Spector Books, Leipzig
ca. 90 pages, German and English edition
color illustrations, paperback with folded dust cover
ISBN DE: 978-3-95905-594-9
ISBN EN: 978-3-95905-595-6
Price: 10 €

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The history of deep time on the planet is delineated by Earth’s stratigraphic layers. The task of identifying, analyzing and dating the transformation processes at work within the Earth’s systems falls within the remit of the geological sciences. However, the transition from the Holocene to the Anthropocene is turning geology into a social science. Microscopic physical, chemical and biological traces in the sediments are glaring indicators pointing to the acceleration and globalization of economic growth and ecological devastation that has taken place in the last decades. In which ways can the archives of the Anthropocene be made legible? Scientists, researchers and artists grapple with concrete stratigraphic materials in an exploration of the opportunities and challenges involved in planetary knowledge production.

With contributions by Giulia Bruno, Rowan Deer, Armin Linke, Simon Turner and the Anthropocene Working Group (AWG)