Introduction

In this chapter, the authors provide an account of environmental political theory (EPT), in order to elaborate why they think it is well suited to theorizing the Anthropocene. The conceptual thickness of the Anthropocene is visible in the debate over when it started. The leading candidate starting dates are differentiated by their conformity to scientific criteria they invoke. This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book reflects the exchanges among the participants during and after the workshop. It provides a survey of the diversity of EPTs current engagement with the Anthropocene, and indicates diverse directions research will take in the future. The book examines the ‘ontological turn’ within social theory, and argues that it may not support a univocal critique of the Anthropocene, as some theorists hope. It considers a variety of ways the discipline of EPT might orient itself in its response to the Anthropocene.