News

CfP: #ESEH2019 Twitter Conference Call for Papers

CfP: #ESEH2019 Twitter Conference Call for Papers
Call for Papers
 
#ESEH2019 Twitter Conference Call for Papers
August 15-16 2019
 
The Next Generation Action Team (NEXTGATe) of the European Society for Environmental History invites abstract submissions for a Twitter conference from 15-16 August, 2019, prior to the ESEH meeting in Tallinn. This is a great opportunity for those who attending the conference to give a preview of their paper or for those who are unable to attend the physical conference.  Each participant will have fifteen minutes (approximately 10 tweets) to present their paper using the twitter conference hashtag, with a further fifteen minutes for a virtual question and answer session.  We welcome and encourage the use of images, brief videos, gifs and memes in presentations. Papers may be collaborative. Each paper will be circulated on the @ESEHtweets and @ENextgate to c.1500 followers, then continue to circulate as individual Twitter moments before and during ESEH 2019 in Tallinn. If you are curious as to what this format could look like please see last year’s #ASEH2018tweets conference organised by Jessica DeWitt.
 
The #ESEH2019 Twitter Conference hopes to provide:
- A dynamic platform on which emerging and established scholars can disseminate their research using digital communication methods.
- Increased visibility and publicity for environmental history, #ESEH2019 and its presenters.
- Interaction with the wider public and scholars unable to attend #ESEH2019.
- A carbon neutral alternative to traditional conference structures, offering an opportunity for individuals unable to attend #ESEH2019 to participate in the conference.
 
Submission requirements:
- 250 word abstract
- Three keywords
- Presenter(s) institutional affiliation (if applicable) and Twitter handle(s)
- Presenter(s) Academic CV (max. 2 pages)
- For further guidance, visit esehtwitterconference.home.blog for a comprehensive guide to presenting at the conference.
 
Abstract submissions are due by 1 March 2019 to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Participants will be notified of their acceptance for the conference by 25 March.
 
Questions should be directed either to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or on Twitter @ENextgate
Read more...

FCUL - SUSBEAUTY: Sustainable Beauty for Algarvean Gardens Old Knowledge to a Better Future

FCUL - SUSBEAUTY: Sustainable Beauty for Algarvean Gardens Old Knowledge to a Better Future
Quando se pensa no Algarve e na sua paisagem é normal que ocorram imagens mentais de palmeiras e campos de golfe. A paisagem algarvia tem vindo a ser invadida por um modelo de paisagem, os ditos “tropical paradises”, que proliferaram por via da indústria do turismo. Foi a partir daqui que o estudo “Sustainable Beauty for Algarvean Gardens: Old Knowledge to a Better Future” se desencadeou, definindo como problema a falta de sustentabilidade da paisagem algarvia dominada por relvados com palmeiras que esgotam os recursos hídricos da região.
 
Ana Duarte Rodrigues, investigadora do Departamento de História e Filosofia das Ciências e do Centro Interuniversitário de História das Ciências e da Tecnologia, é a coordenadora deste projeto, iniciado em 2015 e financiado pela Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, no âmbito do Programa Investigador FCT, no valor de 50 mil euros.
 
O projeto encontra-se explicado no artigo “Sustainable beauty for algarvean gardens: cross-boundary solutions between the humanities and the sciences", publicado online pela Interdisciplinary Science Reviews em outubro de 2017.
 
Através de livros e documentação dos séculos XVI ao XIX, esta investigação pretende demonstrar que se podem encontrar soluções mais sustentáveis recorrendo a espécies autóctones da região do Algarve, capazes de se adaptarem às caraterísticas do clima e dos solos daquela zona. A investigação histórica permitiu descobrir quais as espécies que dominavam a paisagem algarvia entre os séculos XVI e XIX, muitas delas perfeitamente adaptadas ao clima da região mediterrânica e que , portanto, dispensavam a rega. Para além disso, este estudo permitiu descobrir técnicas hortícolas antigas que protegiam a evaporação de água da terra e sistemas de rega tradicionais.
 
Para melhor compreender o problema, a equipa que suporta o estudo no terreno – composta ainda por um arquiteto paisagista e dois agrónomos -, está a desenvolver experiências piloto, em talhões com espécies autóctones e diferentes tipos de irrigação para comparar os gastos de água e o desempenho das plantas por comparação a um relvado.
 
Os resultados preliminares já são visíveis, as plantas autóctones têm tido um desempenho visivelmente melhor do que o relvado e não precisam de qualquer sistema de irrigação, pois encontram-se adaptadas ao clima.
 
“Se tudo correr bem haverá indicações muito concretas a partir deste projeto sobre relações entre certo tipo de plantas e certos tipos de solos e os modos mais adequados para fazer a rega”, conclui Henrique Leitão, presidente do Departamento de História e Filosofia das Ciências.
 
Para mais informações consultar: 
 
 
Read more...

Novo número da HoST — Journal of History of Science and Technology

Novo número da HoST — Journal of History of Science and Technology

A HoST — Journal of History of Science and Technology é uma revista de acesso aberto com arbitragem científica, disponível em linha, publicada em inglês pela De Gruyter, em resultado de uma parceria de quatro unidades de investigação portuguesas (CIUHCT, CIDEHUS, Instituto de Ciências Sociais, e Instituto de História Contemporânea).

CONTEÚDOS DESTE NÚMERO

Ensaio de abertura de Jürgen Renn sobre o entendimento do papel da ciência e da tecnologia na era do Antropocénico à luz de uma História do Conhecimento, "The Evolution of Knowledge: Rethinking Science in the Anthropocene".

Número temático New Insights and Perceptions on Railway History, com introdução pelo editor convidado Hugo Silveira Pereira, dois artigos com investigação primária e dois artigos de revisão crítica bibliográfica, que trazem cruzamentos entre sub-especializações da história (História do Trabalho, História Colonial, Humanidades Digitais e História Empresarial) e a História da Tecnologia:

"Introduction – New Insights and Perceptions on Railway History", Hugo Silveira Pereira

"The Transfer of Railway Technologies and Afro-Asian Labor Processes within the British Empire", Ian J. Kerr

"Colonial Railways and Conflict Resolution Between Portugal and the United Kingdom in Africa (c. 1880–early 1900s)", Hugo Silveira Pereira

"The Transport Revolution on Land and Sea: Farming, Fishing, and Railways in Great Britain, 1840-1914", Robert M. Schwartz

"Railway Towns: a Long-term Global Perspective", Domingo Cuéllar

Três recensões de livros:

"Radiation Brain Moms and Citizen Scientists: The gender politics of food contamination after Fukushima", Mónica Truninger

"For Fun and Profit: A History of the Free and Open Source Software Revolution", Ignasi Meda-Calvet

"Wiring the World: The Social and Cultural Creation of Global Telegraph Networks", Ana Paula Silva

Read more...

CfP: Irregular Ecologies: The Environmental Impact of Unconventional Warfare (Florianopolis, Brazil, 20-21 July 2019)

CfP: Irregular Ecologies: The Environmental Impact of Unconventional Warfare (Florianopolis, Brazil, 20-21 July 2019)
 
Florianopolis, Brazil, 20–21 July 2019
 
Conveners: Christof Mauch (Rachel Carson Center, LMU Munich), Javier Puente (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile)
 
Warfare seldom affects humans alone. While inflicting devastating effects on societies, armed conflicts also shape economic, cultural, sociopolitical, and ecological transformations. As violence territorializes, armed conflicts begin to affect the ecologies and livelihoods that once sustained them. Environmental transformation thus emerges as an inextricable correlate of human conflict. With the dawn of the Cold War, the environmental impacts of human conflict unfolded alongside the same geopolitical trends that engulfed the Global South. Decolonizing movements, guerrilla warfare, rural insurrections, and other forms of intrastate conflict developed from within ecologically fragile areas and eco-sensitive zones, including savannahs, valleys, watersheds, islands, mangroves, forests, plateaus, and jungles. Over the years, emerging and consolidated republics such as Ethiopia, Colombia, the DRC, Vietnam, Peru, Liberia, Mexico, Myanmar, the Philippines, Nepal, Uganda, Sri Lanka, and Nigeria, among others, have become gruesome epicenters of armed conflict in sensitive ecosystems and precarious agrarian landscapes. 
 
The Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society (RCC) and the Armed Conflict and Environment Research Network (ACERN) invite paper proposals for a two-day workshop focused on the interaction between guerilla warfare and social and environmental transformations in the Global South, with a special focus on the last three decades. We invite papers on questions that include, but are not limited to, the following: 
 
- How has irregular warfare transformed or conserved environments? 
- How has it reconditioned everyday life?
- What impact has it had on livelihoods and food access?
- How were chemical cycles changed through irregular warfare? 
 
Paper proposals (300 words) should be submitted by 15 December 2018 to <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>. Upon acceptance, full manuscripts (2000–3000 words) should be submitted by 15 June 2019 for pre-circulation. Successful applicants will receive travel support from the RCC. They will join a group of RCC alumni and ACERN members in Florianopolis, Brazil, on the eve of the Third World Congress of Environmental History (22–26 July 2019).
Read more...

CfP: Small Cities and the Environment - from the Middle Ages to Contemporary Times (14-16 March 2019, Castelo de Vide, Portugal)

CfP: Small Cities and the Environment - from the Middle Ages to Contemporary Times (14-16 March 2019, Castelo de Vide, Portugal)
The international conference Small Cities and the Environment (from the Middle Ages to Contemporary Times) will be held in the ancient frontier town of Castelo de Vide (Portugal) between 14 and 16 March 2019. It is organised by the Small Cities in Time Network, Castelo de Vide Local Authority, the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences at the New University of Lisbon (Institute of Medieval Studies, Humanities Centre, Institute of Contemporary History) and the School of Hispanic and Iberian Studies (Casa de Velázquez, Madrid), through the CIDADES programme.
 
 
The subject of this conference focuses on the argument that the «environment» (in the twin sense of «nature» and «the area surrounding a locality») offers small cities amenities, benefits and constraints for development. Conversely, that, small cities have an impact on this environment, both inside the built-up area and in the surrounding land. Environmental amenities, constraints, impacts and policy responses, have important implications for urban governance and culture but also are intimately related to the urban economic sphere.
 
 
Both environmental history and urban history have developed strongly since the 1970s in the United States and Europe, with growing work not just on the contemporary but on the pre-modern period as well.   However the history of small cities and towns has been somewhat underplayed despite a growing monographic literature. Here in our conference we bring together the two studies of environmental and urban history with an important, new and exciting focus on small cities and the environment.  The theme raises major questions about how far the current literature on the urban environment, its questions and approaches largely dominated by a focus on metropolitan and major cities, is applicable to the small town, or whether we need to construct new theories and approaches for the study of the small city and the environment.
 
 
This conference will focus on four main themes:
 
1. the impact of small cities on the natural and cultural environment, particularly through the effects of extraction: quarrying for stone, wood, sand …, harnessing water, the demands of the urban food market and its consequences for the surrounding agricultural countryside, impacts of drainage (particularly effluents). Do questions about the urban micro-climate, crucial in the reflections of town-planners and hygienists, apply to small cities?
 
2.the impact of the natural environment on small cities, such as agriculture and foodsupply. woodsupply, and water provision considering both amenities and constraints, and the role of nature in the city (eg parks and green spaces).
 
3. the small city’s responses to the changes in the urban environment and to urban environmental problems such as sanitation, pollution, industrialisation and deindustrialisation.
 
4. how the environment can affect the development of small cities in the urban system: the opportunities and constraints caused by access to the sea, insularity, the limits of local resources; here one important topic is the competition between small cities and between them and the wider urban network.
 
 
We invite researchers, including senior and younger scholars to submit session proposals or paper proposals focused on one or more of these themes.  Please send a proposal by completing the form until November 15th, 2018 http://www.castelodevide.pt/pequenascidadesnotempo/en_GB/encontros-cientificos/2019-pequenas-cidades-e-ambiente/submissoes/. You will be notified of acceptance November 30th, 2018
 
 
In general, the conference is unable to fund travel or accommodation costs but transport to the conference venue from Lisbon, together with lunches, an excursion and other sociability will be offered by the municipality of Castelo de Vide. In addition it may be possible to provide some support for scholars without funding. Hotels in the beautiful town are very inexpensive, as are other costs.
 
 
The conference languages will be Portuguese, Spanish, French and English.
Read more...

Position Announcement: Director of Graduate Programs in Environment and Society (full-time)

Position Announcement: Director of Graduate Programs in Environment and Society (full-time)
The Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society (RCC) at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich (LMU Munich) is looking for a Director of Graduate Programs in Environment and Society. The RCC has two structured graduate programs: a Master's level certificate program in Environmental Studies and a doctoral program in Environment and Society. Together these create a community of more than a hundred graduate students from a range of disciplines and backgrounds. 
 
The Director of Graduate Programs is responsible for:
- recruiting and supporting Master-level students;
- managing the admission process for both programs;
- developing curricula and teaching Environment and Society course components;
- liaising with university professors and environmental practitioners; 
- maintaining student records, managing budgets, and updating websites;
- leading excursions and residential workshops (field seminars, film seminars, etc.);
- publicizing and advocating for the programs in Munich and beyond.
 
The candidate must hold a doctoral degree in a humanities or social sciences discipline and have demonstrable research experience within the broad area of Environment and Society. Experience of teaching and coordinating academic programs and a high level of fluency in both English and German are required, as are organizational abilities and strong leadership skills. Applicants should enjoy working with colleagues of diverse cultural backgrounds, be able to balance multiple assignments, and meet tight deadlines: prior experience of grant-writing would be welcomed. Candidates who wish to pursue their own academic research will have some limited possibilities for this and will have access to the excellent libraries at LMU Munich and the Bavarian State Library.
 
The position is a full-time (40.1 hours a week), primarily in-house, service position. There is some flexibility in the way the position is organized: applicants interested in part-time or job-sharing arrangements are encouraged to apply. The position begins on 15 January 2019 or as soon after as is feasible, and the initial contract will be for two years with a possibility of renewal. The RCC offers an attractive compensation packaged based on the tariff contracts for public service, level TVL 13 (commensurate with experience) and 30 days paid vacation. Working hours are flexible, and the RCC offers a family-friendly working environment. The RCC can also assist, if necessary, with work permits and visas. As the candidate will be a state employee, s/he is required to have German health insurance and to make contributions to the German tax and social welfare system. We especially seek applications from qualified individuals with disabilities and welcome applications from women.
 
To apply, please send your cover letter, CV, writing sample (max. 5 pages) and the contact information of two references in one pdf file with the subject ″Director of Graduate Programs″ to RCC managing director Dr. Arielle Helmick via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 23 November 2018. We will accept applications in English or German. Interviews will take place at the end of November or in early December.
 
Read more...

III Meeting of REPORT(H)A - EXTENSION OF SUBMISSION DEADLINE (round tables, sessions and panels - until 15 November)

III Meeting of REPORT(H)A - EXTENSION OF SUBMISSION DEADLINE (round tables, sessions and panels - until 15 November)
ALARGAMENTO DO PRAZO DE CHAMADA PARA TRABALHOS
 
III Encontro REPORT(H)A
"Dinâmicas e Resiliência em Sistemas Socio-Ambientais"
28 a 30 Março, 2019 | Universidade de Évora 
 
Foi alargado o prazo para submissão de propostas de mesas-redondas, sessões e painéis, até 15 de Novembro de 2018.
Decorre, igualmente, a receção de propostas de comunicação individual e posters até 15 de Novembro.
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
EXTENSION OF SUBMISSION DEADLINE
 
III Meeting of REPORT(H)A
"Dynamics and Resilience in Socio-Environmental Systems"
28 - 30 March, 2019
 
The deadline for submitting proposals for round tables, sessions and panels was extended until 15 November 2018.
It’s also taking place the receipt of proposals for individual communications and posters until 15 November.
 
Read more...

CfP: The Nature of Health, the Health of Nature: Perspectives from History and the Humanities (Renmin University of China, Beijing, China, 30.05.2019 – 01.06.2019)

CfP: The Nature of Health, the Health of Nature: Perspectives from History and the Humanities (Renmin University of China, Beijing, China, 30.05.2019 – 01.06.2019)

Conference - Renmin University of China, Beijing, China

30.05.2019 – 01.06.2018

 

Location: Renmin University of China, Beijing, China

 

Sponsors: Center for Ecological History, Renmin University of China, and the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society 

 

Since Rachel Carson’s path-breaking book Silent Spring (1962), many experts and citizens have been trying to understand how the health of nature and of human beings are related in the past, present, and future. Old concepts of disease and illness have been challenged by more holistic approaches that link humans to their environmental conditions. Toxic residues in the air, water, and soil have moved to the forefront of medical analysis, while ecologists have tried to define what a “healthy ecosystem” or “a healthy Earth” might mean.

 

This workshop will bring scholars to address such questions as these:

  • How have definitions of health changed over time, and how have politics, science, religion, and other forces influenced those definitions?
  • What connections have different cultures and societies made between the human body and nature in the past?
  • How have discourses on human health and imaginaries of environmental degradation and planetary decay been linked? What effect have planetary trends such as climate change had on human and nonhuman health?

 

The conference will be open to all ranks of scholars, from graduate students to senior professors to independents. Participants will be selected competitively. Those interested in attending should send a one-page proposal (or about 300 words) and include a title and a one- or two-page CV. Please send your proposal (in English or Chinese) to this Rachel Carson Center address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

The deadline for consideration is 1 January 2019. Successful proposals will be announced around 1 February, and complete drafts of papers (minimum of 5,000 words in English or the equivalent in Chinese characters) will be required by 1 May 2019. All papers will be circulated to the participants in advance and will not be orally presented in full during the conference.

 

Travel expenses for scholars living outside of China will be paid by the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society. Scholars living within China should depend on their own universities for covering travel expenses. For all participants, hotel expenses for four nights will be covered by Renmin University of China.

 

Nancy Langston, Distinguished Professor of Environmental History at Michigan Technological University, will be our keynote speaker. Her most recent books include Toxic Bodies, which asks how and why endocrine disrupting chemicals have saturated our bodies and our environments, and Sustaining Lake Superior, which focuses on the interconnected histories of watershed health, human health, and forest health--all in the context of climate change.

 

The last day of the conference will be devoted to a field trip to the Great Wall of China. Participants are also encouraged to use this travel opportunity to explore the capital city and other parts of the People’s Republic of China.

 

The steering committee for the conference consists of:

  • Mingfang Xia, Director of the Center for Ecological History, Renmin University of China, and professor of history in the Qing Institute
  • Helmuth Trischler, Head of research at the Deutsches Museum, professor of modern history and the history of technology at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, and co-director of the Rachel Carson Center, Munich
  • Shen Hou, Deputy Director of the Center for Ecological History and associate professor of world history at Renmin University of China
  • Chen Hao, Assistant Professor of History, Renmin University of China
  • Donald Worster, Hall Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA, and Distinguished Foreign Expert, Renmin University of China, Beijing

Downloads

Read more...
Subscribe to this RSS feed

About REPORT(H)A

News & Events