Cultural histories of the earth Field of study: Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies in the Humanities
Programme code: W1-S1SH24.2024

The module is a continuation of the course “Geological Turn in the Humanities.” It focuses on a cultural view of the history of the formation of geological knowledge and the history of the development of life on Earth before and after the emergence of humans as a species, which has influenced the transformation of the planet's surface (lithosphere and hydrosphere) and climate (atmosphere) to an extent not seen before. Within the classes a variety of ways of conceptualising inanimate nature, known both from historical writing and contemporary representations, will be presented. The course will introduce the concept of geological time for a better understanding of the cycle of transformations of life forms as well as climate change and natural disasters. It will address one of the most fundamental and at the same time most puzzling geological issues, focusing on the processes of transformation of organic to inorganic matter - which is one of the fundamental pillars of the non-anthropocentric humanities, which goes beyond simple oppositions: living/dead, organic/mineral. The module will introduces elements of historical geology, geology of regions, petrography, mineralogy, gemmology, palaeontology, as well as natural philosophy and geophilosophy.