From Debris to Sediment: Unearthing Imperial Geology

In geology, the term sediment refers to organic or mineral particles that were set in motion and transported to a new location by air, water, or ice. Today, new sediments are emerging that challenge traditional concepts of geological processes: the global spread of microplastics, the contamination of soil and water with toxins, infrastructural remainders of industrial manufacturing, or the material legacies of imperial and/or colonial resource extraction.

From Debris to Sediment addresses the rising relevance of these residues. From the perspective of media studies, geography, sociology, environmental sciences, and artistic research, the contributions to this volume deal with key sites and issues related to the mounting layers of anthropogenic refuse and explore sediments as a geo-philosophical figure of thought. What media, politics, and ecologies are implicated in accumulating "future fossils"? And how do they envision the new material cycles emerging from these growing deposits?