At the KOSMOS lecture on 5 June from 6 to 7.30 pm in the Senate Hall of Humboldt-Universit?t (HU), Prof. Dr Mark Lawrence from the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) will present his point of view in the debate on the concept of the Anthropocene. Prof Dr Tobias Krüger, Director of IRI THESys and Professor of Hydrology and Society at the Department of Geography at HU, will moderate the discussion.
After the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) rejected the Anthropocene as a formal geological epoch last year, the dispute over the definition and meaning of the term has flared up again. Should the term Anthropocene be used informally in future? Or would it be better to collect further empirical evidence in order to gain acceptance of the Anthropocene as a geological epoch in a second attempt at the IUGS ? In the current KOSMOS lecture, Prof Dr Mark Lawrence takes a stand on this debate and proposes the introduction of the term Anthropos expansion. In his lecture, Lawrence explains the term anthropospansion and shows what role it could play in future scientific research on global environmental change.
Prof. Dr Mark Lawrence is Scientific Director at the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) at the GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences. His research addresses the Anthropocene by integrating different scientific perspectives. In his team, he brings together a broad spectrum of scientific expertise and involves social actors in a transdisciplinary research approach.
At a glance
When: Thursday, 5 June 2025, 6 to 7:30 pm
Where: Senate Hall of Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin, Main Building, Unter den Linden 6, 10117 Berlin
Programme
The lecture entitled "The Anthropos Expansion and the Anthropocene" will be held in English. Registration is not required. Admission is free.
About the KOSMOS Lectures
The KOSMOS Lectures are organised by the Integrative Research Institutes IRI THESys at Humboldt-Universit?t. The IRI THESys is dedicated to the research field of transformations of human-environment systems from an interdisciplinary perspective.