Writing about a Landscape in the Anthropocene

Contents:

Carrying a Backpack Full of Stones: A meditation on the past and present of the post industrial landscape

By Celia Hurvitt

Granite quarries dot the pine forests of coastal Maine. Once the primary source of economy in this small state, they are now abandoned, tucked behind tree lines and out of sight. Through a series of reflections on time, memory, and property, this essay aims to answer what should be done with these post-industrial sites? And, how can we reconcile with the violence inflicted upon them in the past?

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Looking Down Yosemite Valley: An Artistic Analysis of Yosemite National Park

By Ivy Lagerberg

The story of Yosemite as it is told by works of art is often one-sided, and reveals national motivations and ideals of post-civil war America. 

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Ghosts Amongst Ruins: How Disaster Breaks the Clock

By Safa Figal

A tornado ripped through Nashville, Tennessee earlier this year. What it left in its wake were ghostly reminders of the past that beg for a reconceptualization of how we perceive the present and our prioritization of the future.

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A Delicate System: Exploring Patterns in the Long Island Sound

By Elsa Dupuy d’Angeac

This project started with an investigation into how trash arrives on my beach and why it stays. To do so, I researched the presence of wildlife and the water quality at two beaches on opposite ends of Long Island Sound.

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Past, Present, Future, hanging in the air between

By Ruth Samuels

“There is an old Native American legend that the Finger Lakes came into being when the Great Spirit placed the imprint of his hand in blessing on the Upstate land.” So begins the mythology of the Finger Lakes, as retold and recycled by teachers to schoolchildren and devoted local residents to any curious visitors.

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Stories in, of, and for the Anthropocene: Exploring With Turkeys

By Talia Lanckton

This essay is written in reference to a children’s story I wrote about a few turkeys from Boston.

Read Story. Read Essay.

Coal and Progress on the W&OD: Reconstructing a hidden history of a beloved trail

By Sam Libberton

This essay looks at the Washington and Old Dominion Trail, a regional park and rail trail in Northern Virginia. The fates of the railroad preceding the trail rose and fell with coal, a fact hidden from official tellings of the park’s history on informational plaques dotting the trail. I work through these silences to help contextualize this important artery of Northern Virginia.

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Sensing and Caring: Living In Unknown Landscapes

By Lucas Eras Paiva

This project is a journey in uncertain landscapes, and a reflection on the importance of our vulnerability. As I take you with me for a walk into the darkness of COVID-19, we discuss the meaning of being “lost”, the importance of the unknown, how the concept of the Anthropocene can matter to our perception, and, finally, the importance of paying attention and caring about the world when sensing the landscapes that we are part of. I move between past memories, anthropological theory, the present and the future, attempting to create a reading experience that mimics my main topic: our (inevitable) move towards the unknown.

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