The Anthropocenes Research Group (ARG) at Newcastle University is an active community of scholars and educators from diverse disciplines collaborating on sustainable, transdisciplinary responses to the intensifying challenges of global socioecological change. Our work is grounded in a dialectical approach to human-environment relationships, drawing on insights from the natural and social sciences, the arts, and the humanities. 

The Anthropocene, understood as the complex entanglement of natural and human-driven processes leading to planetary change, continues to offer a powerful conceptual lens for understanding the present, connecting with the past, and imagining the future. The salience of the concept - evident, for instance, in its capacity to bridge academic disciplines and to articulate the increasingly shared lived experiences of humanity - persists despite the lack of its formal recognition as a geological epoch. 

In ongoing engagement with the concept, we question the notion of a singular Anthropocene, arguing instead for the recognition of multiple Anthropocenes shaped by differing histories, responsibilities, resources, vulnerabilities, and aspirations in relation to climate change. Not all have contributed equally to environmental degradation, nor does every one possess the same capacities to confront crises with the urgency required. The ARG therefore approaches the Anthropocene through a critical ethical lens, recognising the need to divest from hegemonic narratives and to decentre the anthropos by including diverse human and more-than-human perspectives. 

The ARG fosters vibrant dialogue across disciplines, organising a lively programme of talks, reading groups, roundtables, workshops and seminars. We organise Annual Lectures featuring prominent international scholars in the field and have previously hosted talks by Dipesh Chakrabarty, Jan Zalasiewicz, Mark Maslin, Salma Monani, and Elizabeth Sumida Huaman. We also support wider environmental humanities and social sciences communities in Newcastle through sponsored events. Moving forward, we will be launching an annual Anthropocenes PGT Dissertation Prize. 

History of the group

The ARG was originally founded by Professor Andy Large (Geography), emerging from an international series of workshops organised by Newcastle University and Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (2012–2015). These workshops examined the relationships between waterways, ecosystems, and humans, culminating in the edited volume Rivers of the Anthropocene (University of California Press, 2018). In 2018, Andy was joined by Professor Bernhard Malkmus (now Professor of German and Environmental Humanities at New College, University of Oxford) and Dr Scott Ashley as part of the ARG steering group. Since 2024, the ARG has been led by Dr Angelos Theocharis, Dr Audrey Verma, and Dr Scott Ashley. The group was renamed the Anthropocenes Research Group (from the Anthropocene Research Group) in 2024 to reflect the plurality of definitions, methods, and more-than-human worlds we seek to engage and learn with as we enter our second decade. 

We welcome collaborations with allied groups and individuals. To join the ARG, suggest activities, or to chat with the convenors, contact Dr Angelos Theocharis, Dr Audrey Verma, and/or Dr Scott Ashley.