The debate about the new Anthropocene era is also shaping the historical sciences. Demands for new methods, new sources and new narratives are dominating the field. Questions about the significance of nature, the expansion of time and the role of the human actor touch the core of historical science's disciplinary self-image. In order to still have relevant interpretative power under the conditions of looming climate change, historiography must also change. The author guides us through the international debate on the Anthropocene, searches for connections and points of reference and suggests developing new narratives of contamination and relation.

Sandra Maß: Zukünftige Vergangenheiten. Geschichte schreiben im Anthropozän, Göttingen 2024.