Law in the Anthropocene

This seminar explores foundational challenges that the law faces in the Anthropocene by discussing influential theoretical approaches to the Anthropocene.

The term "Anthropocene" is used in various ways: to describe a new geological era (Crutzen, 2002); a significant shift in our understanding of human history (Chakrabarty, 2012); an existential ecological crisis of the Earth system (Steffen et al., 2015); and the dissolution of the dichotomy between nature and culture, as well as between nature and humans (Latour, 2017; Descola, 2011). In law, the Anthropocene denotes not only a set of ecological crises but also, more fundamentally, a challenge to how modern law has shaped the current state of nature and the relationship of humans and nature therein. In the seminar, we will focus in particular on the question of how the law was historically involved in bringing about the Anthropocene.

Literature: Fleurke, Floor; Somsen, Han; Lindahl, Hans; Petersmann, Marie-Catherine; Leach, Michael: Paiement, Phillip (2024): Constitutionalizing in the Anthropocene. In: J. Hum. Rights. Environ. 15 (1), pp. 4-22.