How can the concept of “the Elemental” inform the ways in which we speak about the Anthropocene?

The theme of “the Elemental” served as the organizing scheme of the Anthropocene Campus Melbourne and operated as a reference point for the articulation of genuinely anthropocenic questions and research paths. By directing the debate around the Anthropocene towards “the Elemental,” the overall agenda was to—as organizer Timothy Neal has put it—“stick with the troubles of matter.” The conversations below explore the motif of “the Elemental” from multiple perspectives and methodological approaches.