MUSEUM OF POSTNATURAL HISTORY
Lecture “From the anthropocene to the postnatural”
When: 2025/04/03
Where: Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (Paris, France)
What: Gil Oliveira gave a lecture entitled “From the Anthropocene to the PostNatural: Natural History Museums Revisited” as part of the seminar “Museums and Contemporary Challenges: What Discourses Surround Natural History Collections?” Organized by Adèle Chevalier, Diane Courtin, and Loeiza Iacono, the seminar addressed questions raised by the specific nature of natural history collections and the museums that preserve them. It brought together museum professionals on a monthly basis to explore a central issue: how do exchanges between museums and actors from civil society transform the narratives associated with these collections?
Summary of the Lecture
The Anthropocene and the postnatural are two informal concepts that help us rethink the recent evolution of the world we inhabit. The first refers to a proposal to define a new geological epoch into which we are said to have entered. The second describes the portion of the living world that has been intentionally shaped by humans through processes such as domestication or genetic engineering. This lecture examines how these two concepts appear within natural history museum exhibitions: How are they staged? With what kinds of objects? What narratives are they linked to? Beyond the debates they may provoke, both concepts have strong heuristic potential. They highlight the limits of the modern paradigm—one built on the distinction between nature and culture—and invite us to question the cultural dimensions that shape how societies relate to their environments. They also provide a fresh lens through which to view environmental issues and living beings.
