Centering childhood(s) in the Anthropocene: (Re)production of human genres through nature(s) in early childhood education and care

This article argues for scrutinizing the concept of ‘human’ in Anthropocene childhood research instead of diverting attention from it. The postulate is that global ecological degradation results from people being forced to model a capitalist genre of human, ‘Man.’ Employing ethnographic fieldnotes from a Finnish kindergarten, I analyze how two children (re)produced themselves as different genres of human through distinct kinds of nature(s). Emphasis is given to the plurality of childhoods and natures. It is shown that children can play an active role in formulating humanness in ways that are ecologically either more or less troubling.