Griffith Review 80: Creation Stories

The capacity to tell stories — along with language and the ability to create art — is seen as both intrinsic and unique to the human species. Over thousands of years, we’ve forged narratives of our origins, our journeys and our dreams as a means of accounting for who we are and to define our place in the world.

In the twenty-first century, as our existential and environmental crises mount, humanity’s place feels distinctly tenuous. What lessons from the past can inform, even shape, our increasingly uncertain future? And are the stories we’re telling ourselves about what comes next — environmental downfall or technological salvation — helping or hindering what we might do and where we might go?

In celebration of Griffith Review’s eightieth edition and twentieth anniversary, Creation Stories looks to the stars above and the earth below to map our ever-evolving relationships with the world around us. From archaeology and astronomy to AI and transhumanism, the preservation of traditional knowledge to the intricacies of postmodern identity, this edition travels through time and space to explore the many tales of who we are and where we might be headed.