Georg Schäfer Doctoral Researcher, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology

What happens when ecological crisis, entrepreneurial ambition, and political influence converge on the Great Plains? Following the Dust Bowl, the agricultural economy was at a crossroads. Business leaders, scientists, and politicians in Kansas and Missouri saw an opportunity to leverage World War II industrial mobilization capabilities to produce synthetic fertilizers and stabilize the economy.

This talk traces the resulting reorganization of the Great Plains’ agricultural metabolism and knowledge economy, through a frame of the Anthropocene, revealing the ways in which they continue to shape soils and water today.

The Spencer Research Library will share objects from the collections that inform the research of Schäfer.

This event is supported by the Environmental Studies Program, the Department of Sociology, the Spencer Research Library, and The Commons

For streaming access, register at https://bit.ly/RegionalAnthropocene