Humans, Plants, and Three Temporalities
Date
2017
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Haverford College. Department of Anthropology
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Thesis
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eng
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Abstract
If the age of the anthropocene has arrived, then it would seem odd to turn the spotlight away from humans and onto the non-human. Yet this new geologic age suggests that we must rethink our relationships with our surroundings. How are we embedded amongst the non-humans? Where does the human end and where does the plant begin? To this end, I conducted fieldwork at an urban farm in West Philadelphia, where I looked at vegetables and weeds. I argue that thinking along three lines of temporality—seasonal, built, and geologic—allows us to appreciate the richness and variety of relationships that we have with the plants. Seasonal time is made apparent through activities on the farm: humans view their relationship with plants as one of utility but are bound by the plants’ seasonal variations. Built time expresses itself through the farm’s surroundings. Concrete residential buildings surround the farm yet the weediness of the city becomes apparent in these surroundings. Lastly, the creek that flows underneath the farm links the human history of the farm with the planetary history of the Earth. Through this appreciation of the landscape around us, we can understand that humans are deeply intertwined with their surroundings in a multitude of ways.