Earthbound Social Movements and the Anthropocene

Abstract

Despite a growing body of Anthropocene research, less attention has been given to how these changing dynamics are impacting social movements. This work addresses this gap in the literature by developing a critical reading of social movements and the Anthropocene that draws on social movement studies and environmental political theory. I argue a new social movement formation is appearing, which I call the Earthbound people. I show how a new Earth-centered cosmopolitics is emerging in response to the Anthropocene by drawing on diverse examples of global social and environmental justice and Indigenous rights struggles over land and water.