The Anthropocene and More-Than-Human World Writing Workshop Series
Climate change, biodiversity loss, toxic chemicals, and the depletion of water and other physical resources are all threatening to collapse the Earth’s systems. These are critical issues to be addressed as life on Earth is sustained by the interconnected webs of multispecies entanglements. In the era of the Anthropocene, many of these webs are disentangling and we are entering the Earth’s sixth mass extinction event. To solve these significant problems, we need to reconsider our relationships with the more-than human world. By reflecting on the social, cultural and scientific aspects of our lives, we can use all of our capacities and powers to make a life which connects with as many different species as possible. This is important because we need to treat the more-than-human world both ethically and sustainably. If we do not value the more-than-human world, we risk overexploiting it.
Conscious of these dangers, the early-career researcher writing workshop series aims to open up a multicultural space which moves beyond geographical boundaries to foster discussions and listen to a variety of voices, addressing the problems associated with the Anthropocene and the more-than-human world (animals, plants, forests, water, soil, bacteria, viruses, whole ecosystems). Entangled webs of agency, culture, technology and governance create problems but also solutions for our collective futures. Drawing from interdisciplinary perspectives and methodologies, there is the possibility of addressing the complex problems associated with multispecies entanglements in the era of the Anthropocene. By pooling the collective knowledge surrounding the Anthropocene and the more-than-human world, we can move towards reaching potential solutions to prevent the disentangling of multispecies assemblages.
The Anthropocene and More-Than-Human World Writing Workshop Series organised by Dr Catherine Price (University of Warwick) and Dr Matthew Dennis (Eindhoven University of Technology), is for PhD and ECRs and is designed to foster knowledge exchange in a supportive environment. Outputs from the workshop series will include a special issue of the journal, Exchanges: The Interdisciplinary Research Journal and blog posts which will be hosted on the Anthropocene and More-Than-Human World Writing Workshop Series website.
The details of the workshops are as follows:
Dr Gareth Johnson – publishing in academic journals. Wednesday 22 September, 11am to 1pm UK BST, and Wednesday 17 November, 11am to 1pm UK GMT.
Professor Pat Thomson – blogging and conversation pieces. Wednesday 15 September, 10am to 5pm UK BST.
Dr Helen Kara – creative academic writing. Wednesday 6 October, 10am to 5pm UK BST.
Dr Anne Galloway – the more-than-human world. Wednesday 13 October, 8am UK BST.
There will also be workshops to develop drafts for Exchanges: The Interdisciplinary Research Journal.
All workshops will be held virtually.
We welcome abstract submissions from PhD and ECRs from any discipline whose research relates to the Anthropocene and the More-Than-Human World.
The deadline for abstracts of 300 words and author biographies of 150 words has been extended to 20th August 2021. Please specify in your abstract which kind of output format you plan to contribute to Exchanges: The Interdisciplinary Research Journal. Detailed information for prospective authors on article formats, word limits and style guidance can be found at https://exchanges.warwick.ac.uk/index.php/exchanges/guidance. Please submit your abstracts and biographies to: exchangesjournal@warwick.ac.uk. This is also the address for any article submission queries relating to the special issue.
Decisions will be communicated shortly after the deadline for abstract submissions.
The deadline for the submission of final article manuscripts to Exchanges: The Interdisciplinary Research Journal is 30 November 2021.
For queries concerning the workshops or any general enquiries, please email anthrowritingworkshop@gmail.com
Funded by a British Academy Seed Funding Grant 2021
The Anthropocene and More-Than-Human World Writing Workshop Series 