Young Authors & the Anthropocene: What story books reveal about the place-ecological meaning constructed by children of the global south

Abstract

This qualitative research highlights 14 Indian middle-school children’s meaning-making of the Anthropocene in storybooks they authored. Thematic analysis of the storybooks, interviews, journals, creative writing assignments & group discussion revealed that the children’s outdoor nature experiences inspired a striking critique of the necropolitical-geontopolitical Anthropocene regime. Children’s sense of marginalization forged empathy with the more-than-human, fostering feelings of collective resistance. This research brings the unheard voices of children in the Global South to the fore as they attempt to examine the Anthropocene from their experiences in Chennai, India.