Digitization seizes every realm of what today constitutes the contested idea of the “human”. A  concise synopsis of the Axiomatic Earth seminar.

A Video Report

The seminar as part of the Anthropocene Campus 2016 illustrated the Axiomatic Earth condition through the course of five sessions. Addressed were the history of the database, the registering abilities of oil slicks as well as the political consequences of heavy-oil classifications in Venezuela, the constitution of the mental as a militarized and financialized object, and the political instrumentality of the Copenhagen Climate Agreement’s fixation on the 2 degree average temperature increase. A sixth session extended the idea of abstraction to the group itself, by classifying the discussions to reveal subjectivities and power frameworks within the group. In this Summary, Ravi Agarwal presents a succinct synopsis of the form and content of the seminar sessions.