Boris Shoshitaishvili

Social Scientist, 2022-2023 Berggruen Fellow

Boris Shoshitaishvili is a science studies scholar with a background in evolutionary biology, comparative literature, and ancient Greek epic poetry. His work focuses on the relationship between the Earth sciences, globalization, and collective identity. He has published articles and reviews in Earth’s Future, The Anthropocene Review, and Bryn Mawr Classical Review, and co-authored scientific papers in Ageing Research Reviews and The Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in UC Berkeley’s Anthropology department after earning his PhD in Comparative Literature from Stanford.

As a USC Berggruen Fellow, Boris is working on a book exploring how we can understand certain concepts from the Earth sciences – the Anthropocene, Gaia Theory, and the Noosphere – as early attempts to formulate specific “planetary identities,” which are poised to influence cultural, political, and institutional practices in the near future.