http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/anthropocene Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Tue, 28 Apr 2026 11:21:05 -0400 Tue, 28 Apr 2026 11:21:05 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1905/how-humans-will-end-the-world-a-cautionary-history-of-environmental-and-civilizational-instability By Natalie Novella - After thousands of years of innovation, humankind has shaped the modern world into a new planetary epoch: the Anthropocene. This paper connects the human propensity to carve our comfortable, convenient civilizations into our local environments with the reactionary forthcoming global instability of Earth’s ecosystems. By following the classic theory of civilizational decadence, it is evident human civilization has entered the final phase, the decline and fall. This is due to a paradox, wherein the products of our perceived prosperity, consumerism and wastefulness, hasten advancement towards... Thu, 16 Sep 2021 07:18 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1905/how-humans-will-end-the-world-a-cautionary-history-of-environmental-and-civilizational-instability http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1643/nature-or-culture-the-anthropocene-as-social-narrative By Kelly Power - Is it possible to objectively define the Anthropocene? This essay argues that whether or not it is precisely definable as a geological epoch, its true value, as a concept grounded in futurity, lies within the social realm. The origins of the term are discussed and several hypotheses for defining the Anthropocene are considered. These are linked to earlier accounts of human influence over the environment. Next, the universality of the Anthropocene narrative is challenged, with an emphasis on its cultural and social dimensions. This critique does not seek to diminish its value but refocus it, stressing... Mon, 22 May 2017 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1643/nature-or-culture-the-anthropocene-as-social-narrative