The concept of the Anthropocene confronts us with many questions of value related to the central role of humanity in shaping the planet. It is important to pay attention to what is valued, how, and by whom. However, practices of valuing are not consistent within societies or between them, and different values can even complicate cooperation when it comes to solving environmental and social challenges.

This website brings together research on such issues from around the world for the benefit of students from a range of subject areas. Its aim is to introduce questions of value in the Anthropocene through a series of ‘object lessons’, presented through texts and visuals. Each lesson addresses a distinctive set of value-making practices through engagement with a real or imagined object.

The material here was workshopped in November 2021 and shaped by the visual artist Alice Cunningham, thanks to funding from the British Academy and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW).

Project team: Daniel Finch-Race, Paul Merchant, Iva Pesa, Simone Schleper, Leo Steeds, Nicola Thomas

Cover art: Alice Cunningham

Website: Jenny Rén