Michiana Adventist Forum: Oystein LaBianca

The Michiana Adventist Forum presents "Welcome to the Anthropocene: A

Brief History of How We, Humans, Have Managed to Overwhelm the Earth's

Natural Processes," presented by Dr. Oystein LaBianca, Professor of

Anthropology, Andrews University, Saturday Afternoon at 3:30 pm,

November 12, 2016, Chan Shun Hall, Andrews University, Springs, MI.

About the Speaker:

Dr. LaBianca  is professor of anthropology at  Andrews University. He

joined the faculty in 1980 and has served as chairman of the Behavioral

Sciences Department  and as Graduate Programs Coordinator for the

department.

He also serves as the associate director of the Institute of Archaeology

at Andrews University; as co-director of the Madaba Plains Project (MPP)

in Jordan and as senior director of the Jordan Field School at Tall

Hisban, also in Jordan. He is a trustee and member of the boards of the

American Schools of Oriental Research in Boston and of the American

Center for Oriental Research in Amman.

He helped develop an archaeological field school in Jordan where there

are digs done annually under his guidance. He was instrumental in

beginning the Andrews Service Learning Program and the master’s program

in community and international development.

He was born in Norway and has studied at Adventist colleges and

universities in the Middle East, France, and the US.  He holds a PhD

from Brandeis University.

About the Topic:

“Welcome to the Anthropocene: The Earth in Human Hands.” According to

geologists, the impact of humans on the shape of our planet has reached

the point where a new geological era is discernable, namely the Human

Era or the Anthropocene. What is new about this new era is the extent to

which human activity has become not only dominant, but is overwhelming

the earth’s natural systems, impacting in historically unprecedented

ways the climate, the environment and the oceans. The presentation will

orient to the current discourse regarding the Anthropocene among

scientists and humanities scholars—including consideration of the

politics of denial--and will explore the implications of this widening

conversation for a Christian environmental ethic.

Adventist Forum is open to the public.  All are welcome.  For

information, contact Art Robertson at robertsa2@earthlink.net or call

471-7150.