Presentation

Abstract

The dramatic alteration of ecosystems caused by all types of human activity has prompted a profound reflection on the consequences that, both now and in the near future, it will have on the balance between humanity and its environment. The dossier of  FIGURAS ACADEMIC RESEARCH, in its essay section, explores the reflective possibilities of the Anthropocene.

Six texts explore the possibilities of literature and literary criticism to immerse us in the new context of anthropogenic activity and its harms, and suggest how to address, with a new perspective that is both close yet distinct, the concerns caused by socio-environmental relationships.

In this scenario, the circumstances surrounding the anthropogenic event are framed as follows: "Carnivalizing Letters: A Proposal on the Role of Literature in the Age of the Anthropocene" proposes a literary approach that allows to festively deal with the cosmic fear inspired by the new climate regime; in "Strangeness and Symbiosis: arboreal imaginaries in the short stories of Guadalupe Nettel," two short stories by the author are analyzed as works of Anthropocene Gothic, where tree imaginaries and human interactions are articulated; "Imagining a Future from the Present. An Approach to Climate Fiction and the Anthropocene through Jorge Comensal’s Novel Este vacío que hierve" studies this work with an emphasis on the construction of a plausible future based on current climate evidence; in "Pandemics, Floods, and Giant Mosquitoes: Two Works of Latin American Climate Fiction," the environmental crisis is analyzed from an intersectional perspective that intertwines issues such as social class and gender; "Anxieties of the Anthropocene in R´lyeh and Palmyra atoll; the nautical weird fiction of Lovecraft and D.T. Neal" explores how these writers make use of encounters with oceanic monstrosities whose perspectives are opposed to anthropocentrism; and finally, in "The blue foe. The effects of radioactivity in “Ustedes brillan en lo oscuro”, by Liliana Colanzi" it is proposed that the short story manifests the radical hostility of radioactivity towards living beings, advocates for the victims of the forgotten accident relegated by Brazilian state policy, and highlights some of the most conflicting aspects of life in the Anthropocene.

In the Perspectives section, three research articles and one review maintain interdisciplinary communication. "Contradictions of the Rise and Fall of the United States global hegemony: a reflection from the Critical Geography" explores the hegemony of that country from the loss of its international legitimacy. The second article, "Focalization of government benefits in the State of Mexico: an approach based on the National Survey of Household Income and Expenditure (ENIGH) 2018-2020" evaluates the importance of government support in the current income of households in that region; while the third, "The Anthropological Turn in Latin American Philosophy" addresses the need to insert Latin American thought into the global process of philosophical reflection. Additionally, we published a review article, "Mexican Sex Comedy and Spanish Destape: two ways of understanding sexual freedom in a hedonistic consumer culture" which presents a critical investigation of sexual freedoms within the context of a capitalist Western society during the seventies.

Lastly, the Resonances section contains a critical review, "An unusual path of Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights (DESCA)" which examines the recommendations of state and national human rights commissions.