This workshop, held on October 7 and 8, took place in a hybrid format at the Graduate Institute, and aimed to explore some of the most urgent theoretical and methodological challenges of conducting research on human-environment relations in the "Anthropocene". The workshop was organized by Prof. Shaila Seshia Galvin, Ph.D. students, Jonas Köppel and Facundo Rivarola, and ANSO alumni, Dr. Rosie Sims. It gathered about 20 students coming from graduate programs across Swiss universities, members of the Conférence Universitaire de Suisse Occidentale (CUSO), renowned international scholars, and experts working on environmental restoration projects in the Canton of Geneva.

At a time when human relations with the environment are ever more in question, the workshop opened with the question that what it means to be human is subject to renewed scrutiny. Climate change and ecological devastation compel us to acknowledge the multiple living beings and ecosystems that compose our world and the connections that bind us together. As we explored these challenges, we started the workshop with a field visit and outdoor picnic lunch to the “Promenade de L’Aire”, a river’s restoration project lead by award-winning architects Georges Descombes and Greg Bussien, who kindly guided us through the site. Here we explore the interdisciplinary possibilities of thinking and engaging with a world that is not entirely human, and ways we could foster coexistence.

At our return to the Graduate Institute, the workshop took shape around the lectures of guest speakers, Dr. Mario Blaser and Dr. Heather Swanson, as well as student presentations on their doctoral research, spread through the two days' workshop. Dr. Blaser, is a cultural anthropologist from Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada. His work focuses on the political ontologies that challenge the normative notions of nature/culture divide. Dr. Swanson is an associate professor at, School of Culture and Society, University of Aarhus, Denmark. Her research expertise is located between environmental anthropology, cultural geography, environmental history, animal studies, science and technology studies, postcolonial theory, and feminist theory. In combination with the participating students' broad range of research in the field of human-environment relations, we had an exceptionally enriching, thought-provoking, and successful workshop.