Tools
AI Overview
A
planetary anthropologist is a specialist who uses anthropological
methods to understand how humans relate to and interact with
environments and technologies on a planetary—and even cosmic—scale
.
Rather than being focused on extraterrestrial life, this emerging field
typically examines human culture, behavior, and social systems as they
affect, and are affected by, the entire planet and outer space. Key areas of study
Planetary anthropology explores various topics related to human engagement with a wider cosmic context:
- The Anthropocene: Anthropologists in this field study how humans have reshaped the Earth's geological processes and the environmental impacts, such as climate change, on global and local cultures.
- Planetary science and imagination: Researchers use ethnographic methods to observe planetary scientists themselves. This reveals how they "make worlds" by transforming abstract data of planets into tangible places through mapping and other scientific practices.
- Space exploration: As a subfield of space anthropology, this area studies how humans engage with and perceive outer space. Topics include the cultural implications of space travel, human life in space, and the growing commercialization of space.
- Planetary health and justice: Specialists investigate how factors like climate change affect human health and contribute to injustices around the world. They analyze how infrastructure and ecosystems in disarray can impact human bodies and global social systems.
- Archaeoastronomy and ethnoastronomy: These related subfields explore how humans throughout history and in different cultures have viewed the sky and how astronomical cycles have influenced activities like agriculture, religion, and art.
Distinctions from related fields
- Planetary science: Unlike planetary scientists, who study the physical properties of planets, planetary anthropologists are concerned with the human dimension. For example, they look at how scientists "imagine" a planet, not just its physical features.
- Environmental anthropology: While overlapping with environmental anthropology, planetary anthropology expands the scope from local environments to the entire Earth system, acknowledging the global and cosmic contexts of human activity.
- Science fiction: While it may seem like a topic from science fiction, the discipline is an analytical and practical investigation rooted in a social science framework.
The
field is still emerging, but is becoming increasingly relevant as
humanity's impact on Earth grows and space exploration expands.
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Planetary ethnography: A primer - OSF
in
a climate-changing world”. * 1. Why planetary ethnography? Planetary
ethnography has emerged as a shorthand for an analytical and practical
investigation tha...
OSF
The Planetary Imagination: Digital Maps, Virtual Presence, and ...
Oct
19, 2018 — Lisa Messeri, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Anthropology,
Yale University. World-making as social practice describes the ways in
which people construct complex ...
Department of Anthropology | University of Pittsburgh
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