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Associate Professor Christopher Hobson, who oversees the dual degree program with ANU and Ritsumeikan University in Japan, will deliver a lecture during his visit to Canberra. The talk will expand on his research into polycrisis and systemic risk, focusing on the 'Great Acceleration,' a term introduced in a 2015 article co-authored by the late ANU Professor Will Steffen. Despite a deepening awareness of the ways the climate is changing for the worse, along with a keen appreciation of the negative consequences of excessive production and consumption, the collective response has been to push harder, further and higher. Placed over much greater timescales, the ‘Great Acceleration’ stands out for the relatively short-time frame in which there has been a remarkable increase in the size and scope of humans and their impact on the planet.

The next stage in this process might be ‘The Great Disorientation’, reflecting conditions in which socio-economic change and technological development greatly outpaces the capacities of individuals and societies to adjust. As the ‘Great Acceleration’ accelerates, it disorientates. The confusion, the difficulty of comprehending these conditions, contributes to conditions that can be described as polycrisis.

SPEAKER - A/Prof Christopher Hobson

Christopher Hobson is an Associate Professor in the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, at The Â鶹´«Ã½AV National University (ANU). With a background in Political Theory and International Relations, Hobson’s work considers political order, global risks and geopolitics. Hobson is normally based in Japan, where he oversees the ANU undergraduate dual degree program with Ritsumeikan University. Hobson is focused on advancing open, holistic thinking that seeks to move beyond the narrow bounds of specialisation and reckon with the complexity of our global conditions. The different strands of his thinking are brought together through his ‘Imperfect World’ project, which reflects on a world of crises and change.

CHAIR - Dr Nicholas Hoare

Nick Hoare is a Pacific History Research Fellow at the Department of Pacific Affairs at the Â鶹´«Ã½AV National University (ANU).

For more information, see and subscribe to his Substack, ''.

If you require accessibility accommodations or a visitor Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan please contact bell.marketing@anu.edu.au.

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