{"product_id":"the-catastrophic-nature-of-time-luigi-russi-9781597322348","title":"The Catastrophic Nature of Time","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003eAnthropocene\u003c\/strong\u003e, the proposition that human activity ushered a new \u003cstrong\u003egeological\u003c\/strong\u003e era of \u003cstrong\u003eclimate\u003c\/strong\u003e instability, typically induces a sense of urgency in people. \u003cem\u003eThe Catastrophic Nature of Time \u003c\/em\u003eexamines this urgency as a glimpse into the \u003cstrong\u003ehuman\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003econdition\u003c\/strong\u003e. Urgency in the face of anticipated \u003cstrong\u003ecatastrophe\u003c\/strong\u003e merely intensifies an ordinary, if elusive, experience of time: one with which humans have always been familiar but which we easily forget. To retrieve this elusive experience, as it haunts humanity in the shadow of the Anthropocene, Luigi Russi searches for it in the \"ordinary extraordinary\" encounters in which it can still be experienced. These include making all manner of mistakes (from pupils in the science classroom to wanderers getting lost in the woods); falling silent before the ruins of \u003cstrong\u003ePompeii\u003c\/strong\u003e; and losing one's footing reading James Joyce's \u003cem\u003eFinnegans Wake\u003c\/em\u003e. Common to all these experiences is the sense that \u003cstrong\u003etime\u003c\/strong\u003e is not a substance but a deed: the syncopation, rhythm to mark the course of activity. From this view, the Anthropocene merely reinforces what we have always known-we have never been in charge when it comes to keeping time. In his provocative view of time as a mediation undertaken at all levels of the biological and physical world, Russi builds on \u003cstrong\u003ebiosemiotics\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003emedia ecology\u003c\/strong\u003e, and \u003cstrong\u003ecatastrophe theory\u003c\/strong\u003e to remind readers of the risky and timeless human art of paying attention to the \u003cstrong\u003eelements\u003c\/strong\u003e to find sync with the \u003cstrong\u003eworld\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Luigi Russi\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1597322342\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781597322348\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Tampa Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/27\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 136\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.65lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.44d","brand":"Luigi Russi","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48997508677887,"sku":"9781597322348","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-catastrophic-nature-of-time-luigi-russi-9781597322348","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}