Paper short abstract:

A newly re-engineered Anthropology, proposed herein, can illuminate the human potential for adaptation to meet the challenges of a changing climate. Three structural changes in Anthropology must occur in order for this to happen.

Paper long abstract:

Anthropology is the study of human potential, defined herein as the expression of human possibility. Anthropology is also the study of human adaptation. Prior to the advent of the Anthropocene, a historical epoch framed by human-induced environmental change, there was no problem with Anthropology engaging the problems of the past and present and largely ignoring the future. Ironically the one social science uniquely positioned to inform us of the possibility for humans to potentially adapt to climate change is largely silent when it comes to engaging the future. The central argument of this treatise is that a more future-orientated, re-configured discipline is both a necessary and sufficient condition in Anthropology to address a key feature of the Anthropocene: Climate change. Outlined herein are three structural changes that must occur if Anthropology is to successfully engage the challenges of the Anthropocene. The first argument is that Anthropology must become more robust and make room in its traditional four-field approach for a fifth field, namely ecological anthropology. The second argument is that Anthropology must become more engaged within itself and the other social sciences in an integrated, interdisciplinary fashion in its approach to climate change. The third and final argument is that Anthropology must become more trans-disciplinary and enroll, engage and embrace those human knowledge systems outside of the traditional academe. Although the ecology of the Anthropocene is marked by complexity and uncertainty, a newly re-engineered Anthropology can illuminate the human potential for adaptation to meet the challenges of a changing climate.