Environmental History News

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Saturday, 6 March 2010

New edition podcast: Empire and Environmental Anxiety

Edition 32 of the Exploring Environmental History Podcast is now available. In this podcast James Beattie, Senior Lecturer at the Department of History of the University of Waikato in New Zealand explores the environmental anxieties of settlers, scientist and colonial officials in India, Australia and New Zealand during the 19th century. He discusses how the encounter of colonial authorities and settlers in the British Empire with unfamiliar environments and their experience of environmental changes led to widespread environmental anxieties. Probably the most important concern was anxiety over climate change. In 19th century debates surrounding this issue, highly emotive, highly alarmist augments were made that are very similar to the ones used today.

Listen to the podcast in the podcast section.

Thursday, 4 March 2010

Environmental History Forum, Portland State University
March 9, 2010

Sustainability and Environmental History will be the focus of the Environmental History Forum to be held on Tuesday, March 9 in Portland State University's Smith Memorial Center, Room 238 starting at 6:30pm. The event is an academic forum open to scholars as well as interested members of the public to learn and discuss new aspects of American environmental history.

The free Forum kicks off the start of the 2010 Annual Meeting entitled "Currents of Change" of the American Society for Environmental History which will be taking place mostly at PSU and at other venues across Portland from March 10 through the 14th and is expected to attract over a thousand scholars in this field. Co-sponsored by the Portland Center for Public Humanities and the PSU Friends of History, the Forum will feature several distinguished scholars in the field, including:

William Cronon specializes in environmental history and the history of the U.S. West and the frontier. He is the award-winning Turner and Vilas Research Professor of history, Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of WIsconsin-Madison; and author of Changes in the Land: Nature's Metropolis; Uncommon Ground (1995).

Nancy Langston examines "the shared history of people and the environment" as Professor in the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology with a joint appointment in the Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her 2010 book, Toxic Bodies: Hormone Disruptors and the Legacy of DES has just been released by Yale University Press.

James Feldman is an Assistant Professor of History and Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. He lecture on Global Environmental History; History of American Wilderness; Consumerism and Nature in Twentieth Century America; Wisconsin Environments Past and Present; Introduction to Environmental Studies: Seminar on Environmental Issues; Environment & Society and Campus Sustainability.

The Environmental History Forum will be moderated by Professor William Lang, Department of History at Portland State University and the chief editor of the Oregon Enclyclopedia Project. Dr. Lang is the chief organizer of the 2010 ASEH "Currents of Change" meeting. For more information on the Environmental History Forum or on the 2010 ASEH "Currents of Change" meeting check out the www.publichumanities.pdx.edu or at the http://www.aseh.net/ websites. Parking is free in the PSU parking structures after 7pm.

Tuesday, 23 February 2010

Environmental History and Policy Program 2010 Summer Research Fellows at the Chemical Heritage Foundation

The Center for Contemporary History and Policy at the Chemical Heritage Foundation in Philadelphia, PA, seeks proposals for summer fellows in the Environmental History and Policy Program. While in residence, 2010 fellows will pursue research projects contributing to the program’s core project, “Controlling Chemicals.” The main outcome is the completion of a white paper suitable for publication in the program’s series, Studies in Sustainability. Fellows are expected to consider audiences which can benefit from their work, as well as an alternative distribution method to complement CHF’s efforts. For example, options may include conference participation or a contribution to an external publication.

To apply, please send a two-page cover letter, to include a description of the proposed project, its fit within your current research activities, and a brief description of how the project addresses current research gaps or opportunities, attracts interested audiences, etc; and a one-page CV. Graduate students: please arrange to have one letter of recommendation sent directly to CHF.

Proposals (and recommendations) should be submitted electronically to Elizabeth McDonnell (emcdonnell@chemheritage.org). Please direct questions to Jody Roberts (jroberts@chemheritage.org). All materials should be submitted by 1 March 2010. Decisions will be made no later than 15 March 2010.

For more details visit the Chemical Heritage Foundation website.

Monday, 22 February 2010

Exploring Environmental History Podcast nominated for European Podcast Award

The Exploring Environmental History Podcast has been nominated for a European Podcast Award. You can show your appreciation and support by voting for the show. You can award up to 5 stars for the content and design of the show – don’t forget to click on the “Vote and win!” button! A jury of specialists will make the final decisions, but your vote will be taken into account. Voting deadline is extended to 15 March 2010.

Saturday, 20 February 2010

First ESEH European Summer School in Environmental History

Events, disasters, narratives and temporalities in environmental history

The First European Society for Environmental History summer school in environmental history will take place at the Musee national de Port Royal des Champs, Yvelines, France, June 28- July 2.

As the title suggests this first ESEH summer school is not only focused on risks and disasters but rather on how to inscribe them within the writing of environmental history.

Doctoral students, post-doctoral fellows, and more senior scholars are welcome to apply by email, to Gregory Quenet (gregory.quenet@free.fr) BY 30 MARCH 2010. Applications must include a 1 page CV, and a brief statement (about 200 words) indicating how the applicant hopes to benefit from participation in this summer school and what they will contribute to it. Places in the summer school will be allocated after consideration of these statements. Decisions will be communicated to applicants in early April.

For more information download the flyer.

Saturday, 20 February 2010

The Irish Environmental History Network website is live

The Irish Environmental History Network is a contact point for researchers in diverse disciplines focusing on the different aspects of environmental history within Ireland and on the interactions between Irish people and the environment outside Ireland. The website presents a list of individuals from Irish institutions and beyond interested or engaged in research relating to the concerns of Irish environmental history, employing a broad array of methods and focusing on how humanity has perceived the global and Irish environment and interacted with it in any past era. On this website you will find more information about the Network and its remit, a growing collection of links to relevant websites and resources, and news of events of interest.

Visit the network at www.tcd.ie/longroomhub/iehn/.

Sunday, 7 February 2010

Environments: the 79th Anglo American Conference of Historians. Programme released

The programme for the 79th Anglo American Conference of Historians has been released online. This conference with the theme "Environments", will be hosted by the Institute of Historical Research in London on 1-2 July 2010. View the programme at the conference website.

Wednesday, 20 January 2010

New Environmental History podcast: Envirohistory NZ Podcast

A new envinmental history podcast has been launched: Envirohistory NZ has now its own podcast. This is the third regular podcast on environmental history Besides Nature's Past and Exploring Environmental History. The podcast is hosted by Catherine Knight, author of the Envirohistory Blog, and is produced bi-monthly. The podcasts will discuss themes explored in articles on the blog and will also include interviews with people researching or “making” environmental history. Tune in at envirohistorynz.wordpress.com/podcasts-2/

Thursday, 14 January 2010

CFP: First Conference of East Asian Environmental History (EAEH2011)

24-28 October 2011, Taipei, Taiwan

The newly established Association of East Asian Environmental History invites papers for its first conference which will be hosted by Academia Sinica, Taipei. The General Theme is: Resource Utilizations and Impacts

The First Conference of East Asian Environmental History (EAEH2011) aims to provide an opportunity for scholars to learn from each other and to identify important environmental issues with historical perspectives. We need to gain new insights through comparative studies and to learn from each other with regard to methods and sources. We invite papers dealing with themes suggested above for East Asia in any period. Although the study of environmental history is closely related to local histories and situations, we need to explore and identify common factors that have been influential beyond local and national boundaries.

Visit the website for more details and to submit a proposal.

Monday, 4 January 2010

First International Workshop on the History of Environment and Global Climate Change: Water, Ecology, Deforestation, Agriculture, Politics and the Management of Nature

7-8 May 2010, Braga, Portugal

This two-day international workshop aims to bring together the leading scholars sharing a common interest in the environmental and climate histories to deliberate on the subject. The present workshop will make an attempt to address the broad areas of environmental concern in human societies across the globe and the complex patterns of the human- nature relationships by focusing on the history of climate change.

Climatic change through a long duree period and its impact on the rise or decline of civilizations are now worth looking into. Rising or falling temperatures, monsoon behaviour, melting of snow on the mountains, rising sea levels, more powerful storms and cyclones may have a message to convey regarding the interactions of the humans with the natural world. In Asia, Africa and the Asia Pacific in particular, climate had been central to the growth or prosperity of human civilizations. It was most crucial to rice production or settled agriculture.

There is little disagreement among the scholars engaged in Environmental History that history of climate is important to the discipline. The proposed International Workshop on the History of Climate is the first of its kind and it will address some of the fundamental questions most relevant to the very discipline of Environmental History.

Interested scholars are invitation to attend this prestigious workshop. For more information visit the workshop website.

Tuesday, 15 December 2009

CFP 6th conference European Society for Environmenal History (ESEH), "Encounters of Sea and Land"

Turku, Finland, June 2011

The European Society for Environmental History is inviting proposals for sessions, papers and posters for its next international conference. It will take place in Turku, Finland, from June 28 to July 2, 2011. The venues will be Turku University and Abo Akademi University.

Inspired by Turku’s surroundings, which include Europe’s largest archipelago, the main theme of the meeting is “Encounters of Sea and Land”. We encourage proposals that explore the general theme from various environmental history perspectives, such as:

The emergence of environmental crises of the seas
Phases of conservation of inland waters, seas, and coasts
Historical perspectives on marine biodiversity
History of whaling, fishing and overfishing
Exploitation of marine resources, such as water, gas, oil, seaweeds, in the past
History of marine pollution including material flows from land to sea
History of maritime mobility
Development of catchment areas as environmental and socio-economic systems
Environmental history of urban coastal areas
Landscapes and seascapes: changes in the environment and interpretations
Islands and archipelagos as natural habitats and social communities

However, contributions on other topics are equally welcome. Potential fields include, but are not limited to:

Reconstruction of historical weather and climate, and adaptation to climate changes in the past
Environmental history of the polar regions
Development of environmental movements
Dimensions of forest history
Urban environmental history
History of man-animal relationship, food supply and biodiversity
Industrial environmental history
Production, consumption and waste: commodity chains in environmental history
Cultural values and economic interests: retrospective environmental analyses
Theories and methods in environmental history

The conference covers all periods and all areas of the globe. In keeping with a cherished tradition of the field, the conference is open to scholars from all disciplines and backgrounds. We encourage submissions from graduate students. The conference language is English; no submissions in other languages will be accepted.

The deadline for submissions is May 3, 2010.

Submitting a Proposal
All proposals need to be submitted through our online submission system. Please visit http://eseh2011.utu.fi/ and follow the instructions. The scientific committee will accept printed or emailed submissions in exceptional circumstances only.

Wednesday, 3 June 2009

Rural History 2010: an international conference dedicated to rural economies and societies

The British Agricultural History Society has taken the initiative to convene the first international open meeting dedicated solely to rural history. This will take place in September 2010 at the University of Sussex, Brighton, UK. This meeting will be open to all rural historians as well as those primarily interested in viewing contemporary conditions and likely future developments with a knowledge of the past. The conference does not accept that rural history has any single definition, nor does it admit any bounds, and the conference has no intellectual affiliation. It is open to those approaching rural history from any perspective, ranging from those of archaeology, anthropology and ethnography through rural geography, landscape studies and rural sociology to post-modern cultural approaches to the countryside. It will be equally concerned with the countryside as a place of production of foodstuffs as with as the countryside as a place of consumption of leisure and the location of heritage and national memory. Papers will be welcomed on all periods from the prehistoric to the very modern; and there are no geographical limitations on the area of study. Comparative discussions which deal with rural society as a whole will be especially welcome, together with accounts which seek parallels between present day agrarian problems and the past. It is intended that the conference should be the first in a series of biennial or triennial conferences and the Brighton conference will be the occasion when either a European rural history society or a continuation committee of some sort will be formed.

More information about this initiative can be found on the website of the British Agricultural History Society: www.bahs.org.uk/rh2010cfp.htm

Wedneday, 6 August 2008

New MSc in Landscape, Environment and History: recruitment now open

Online interface of MSc

The University of Edinburgh's new MSc in Landscape, Environment and History has started to recruite stdents. This new MSc explores developments in the changing landscape and environment and offers an exciting new eLearning based approach to graduate studies. The programme is a distance learning course and the latest digital learning technologies are used to deliver course materials online. Anyone, anywhere in the world with a first degree or equivalent experience can sign up for this MSc.

The programme will appeal to students all over the world who wish to study for a Master's degree where history meets politics and ecology, where heritage and history intersect, and where historical urban landscapes and the built environment are of interest.

The MSc programme:

explores the history, archaeology and ecology of landscapes, using Scottish examples set in national and international contexts
illuminates how urban and rural space and resources have changed over time
develops independent study and research skills

The course is written by a team of senior academics in social and urban history, environmental history, archaeology, conservation, and politics who have combined with curators and librarians in the National Library of Scotland, Royal Commission of Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland and other cultural organisations to produce video lectures, interactive learning modules, and virtual tours. It is a unique assembly of expertise and digital resources.

This learning environment is complemented with online e-resources - books, journal articles and a range of original sources through Edinburgh University Library's extensive list of digital subscriptions. There is a strong Scottish flavour to the examples and exercises yet the course draws on national and international contexts and scholarly literature from several disciplines.

For a taster session of the teaching materials and further details about the course go to www.shc.ed.ac.uk/postgraduate/taught/landscape/ or download the flyer or poster.

Environmental History Resources