A Discourse Analysis of Anthropocene in IHOPE Publications : Is There a Place for Archaeology?

Sammanfattning: This thesis explores in what way the organisation IHOPE discuss the concept of Anthropocene in text. The texts analysed are based on a selection from publications on IHOPE’s webpage that encompass the word ‘Anthropocene’. The thesis further discusses the role of archaeology in the Anthropocene debate and glances at the agency theory in a discussion of the emergence of Anthropocene as defined as a new geological era. The thesis also discusses this definition and compares it to other alternative definitions as well as diving into the debate of the starting point of this proposed era. A short introduction is made of environmental determinism and its role in archaeology, and how that possibly relates to the background for the idea of Anthropocene. The texts analysed are presented through John Dryzek’s categories for discourse analysis on environmental issues in order to answer the research questions.