Footprint: An Itinerary

The footprint is one of the fundamental artifacts of walking. As both metaphor and material imprint, it signifies mobility and occupation, inquiry and imperialism, absence and presence, trace, and impact. Written as a series of narrative itineraries, the essay explores the contradictory forensics of the footprint. It examines a set of cultural and material histories through the Apollo 11 spacewalk, early hominin tracks at Laetoli, Hindu and Hopi conceptions as well as monument politics in the United States. The migration of the footprint well in front of the sign of the walker into a primary metaphor for our times raises questions about the ways in which histories are used to guide our steps into the future. As it marches forward, the footprint seems to get less capacious and more consumptive. Even as we find the image of footprints on a stretch of sand tranquil and dreamy, we worry about our carbon footprint and its implication for the future of the planet. The essay asks what the implications are of making the human foot bear responsibility for the planet.