Enacting small justices: Education, place and subjectivity in the Anthropocene

Abstract

The concept of the Anthropocene signals both a growing awareness of the negative impact that humans have had on the abiotic and biotic systems of the earth, as well as reflexive opportunity to interrogate how humans might live differently. It is in relation to the reflexive opportunity that the concept of the Anthropocene offers, that I consider the relationship between place, subjectivity and education. To do this, a conceptual overview of the Anthropocene is provided after which place, as emergent, relation and agentic, is discussed. By drawing on the Guattarian concept of ecosophy, the relationship between the Anthropocene and place is considered to highlight the subjectivities this relationship might give rise to. Based on the forms of subjectivities highlighted, an argument is made for enacting ‘small justices’ (Rousell, 2018) that would enable the practice of a more affirmative politics of subjectivity within the field of education in response to the Anthropocene.