Mobile cultures and the Anthropocene

Abstract

Research on mobility has shown considerable interest in promoting an interdisciplinary approach to history in order to renew knowledge of transport. Among the issues brought to light by these perspectives, the question of the environment is central. Because transport affects the territories we inhabit, because it reflects the way societies are driven by technology, the mobilisation of history and its long-term perspectives shed light on the footprints it has left on the Earth. By initiating a dialogue between the objects of transport history and the issues of the Anthropocene, the retrospective perspective we propose involves understanding the interdependencies of the scales and boundaries that affect our environments. Reciprocally, adopting this point of view commits us to renewing our understanding of mobile cultures, identifying their hidden faces, exploring their margins and reopening potentialities. This article introduces a new section for the Journal of Transport History, entitled “Mobile cultures and the Anthropocene”.