Alpine landscapes in the Anthropocene: alternative common futures

ABSTRACT

Alpine landscapes with their melting glaciers and loss of biodiversity represent the epoch of the Anthropocene. In this article, the Anthropocene is understood as a concept that shifts the focus on landscapes as assemblages of entangled human, geological, biological, and meteorological actors that enables a new form of telling stories about human–environment relationships. In the first part, I discuss in the example of Ötzi, the Ice Man, the nature of shifting borders and the agency of mountains. In the second part, I reactivate post-war Swiss Volkskunde (folklore studies) and anthropological studies about the role of Alpine pastures as commons, complemented by a case study from Grisons, Switzerland. The focus on entanglements and storytelling outlines alternative common futures as an epistemological and ontological challenge and as defined by communal work and the commonality of people and things.

KEYWORDS:

• Anthropocene
• story telling
• commons
• entanglement
• Alpine landscapes

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. The Anthropocene as a new geological epoch is still under discussion. For the purpose of this article, I use Anthropocene as an anthropological concept that highlights the relational aspects between humans and their environment, as discussed in Haraway, Ishikawa, Gilbert, Olwig, Tsing, & Bubandt, N. (2015).

2. The Alpine Convention is an international treaty between the Alpine Countries (Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Slovenia and Switzerland) as well as the EU, for the sustainable development and protection of the Alps.

3. For an overview, see Krauß (1987). In the following, all information is derived from Krauß (1987) except where indicated.