The University in the Anthropocene: Proposing a Pedagogy of Study Practices That Make Thought Creative of the Future

The Anthropocene, a concept popularized by the Nobel prize-winning atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen to denote our current epoch in which humanity itself can be conceived as a geological force, has been widely taken up in scientific debates. 1 After a short exposition of the concerns that have been formulated regarding the concept of the Anthropocene, I will side with Isabelle Stengers who understands what is in the course of happening as the intrusion of Gaia, a concept with which she allows for a slightly different awareness of the problems that surround us and the challenges they bring. The aim of this paper is to propose study practices as a way of dealing with the challenges that come with the event of the intrusion of Gaia. Study practices weld together processes of scientific inquiry and political deliberation while rendering the collective of students that has come together around a problematic situation capable of responding in thoughtful and inventive ways. First, however, I will shed light on the debates regarding the Anthropocene.