Geoanthropologie: Kann sich die Wissenschaft auf die Herausforderungen des Anthropozäns einstellen?

As sustainability has become one of the most powerful concepts of our time, sustainability research has also grown and diversified. The reduction sustainability to primarily ecological issues has long since given way to the realization that ecological, economic, social and cultural issues are all intertwined in the current crisis.

As part of FSU Jena’s Lecture Series on Sustainability, Prof. Dr. Jürgen Renn, founding director of the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology will give a talk titled “Geoanthropologie: Kann sich die Wissenschaft auf die Herausforderungen des Anthropozäns einstellen?” on 12.06.2025 from 16:00-18:00.

The lecture discusses the Anthropocene as a new geological era in which humans have become the decisive influencing factor for the Earth system. In response to this fundamental transformation, geoanthropology is presented as a transdisciplinary research approach that examines the interactions between global society and the Earth system. Using the example of the energy transition, the lecture highlights the discrepancy between scientific knowledge and social action and argues for a systemic understanding of complex transformation processes. The central thesis is that the challenges of the Anthropocene can only be overcome through integrative approaches that take into account the co-evolution of technosphere and planetary processes.

The Ringvolesung Nachhaltigkeit lecture series offers an insight into current issues, central topics and controversies in sustainability research and presents different disciplinary approaches to sustainability problems. The event is open to interested parties from all disciplines and degree courses. Find more lectures in the series here: https://www.uni-jena.de/222200/ringvorlesung-nachhaltigkeit