The Anthropocene Household Project explores the Anthropocene at the local level by focusing on the household as a way to understand the lived experiences, knowledges, and practices associated with environmental change.
The purpose of this project is threefold: 1) to work with communities to produce local narratives and understanding about water specifically, and the environment more generally; 2) to develop new approaches to interdisciplinary, community-based research; and 3) to develop, synthesize, and analyze quantitative and qualitative data sets that generate actionable knowledge relevant for policy makers, community organizations, residents, and scholars.
This interdisciplinary project uses a Participation Action Research framework, working with residents, community organizations, neighborhood groups, schools etc. as co-producers of knowledge. Researchers use a mixed method approach that includes surveys, participant observation, focus groups, interviews, oral histories, and environmental sampling.
Outputs
scholarly workshops and conferences
articles, white papers, and monographs based on the project’s research
informal educational programming focused on understanding local environmental histories and legacies and expanding knowledge about the environment
working with residents to develop installations and exhibitions focused on the issues of water, sustainability, and environmental change in their communities
conducting a multi-year “citizen science” project that will produce GIS-based, open access data sets on household water quality
The Anthropocene Household is part of the Rivers of the Anthropocene Project. It is funded in part through the IU Grand Challenges: Prepared for Environmental Change initiative. It is affiliated with the Memory, Place and Community in Global Water Systems Working Group of the Sustainable Water Future Programme, a project of Future Earth.