Australasian Animal Studies Association

CFP: Environmental History Workshop 2020

CFP: Environmental History Workshop 2020

Building on the successes of two previous meetings (2018, Institute of Historical Research; 2019, Northumbria University) the Environmental History Workshop is very excited to share this CFP for our third meeting, which is to be hosted by the University of Liverpool. This one-day event will take place on 8 September 2020.

Update: The global Covid-19 pandemic has left all of us in a state of uncertainty. We still plan for the September 2020 meeting to go ahead either as a physical or a virtual conference depending on how the situation evolves. We will keep this under review. Whether it is a physical or virtual event, we sincerely hope this one-day meeting will be a welcome opportunity to connect with colleagues and friends. If you are interested in participating in the workshop, but have a health condition that might make it difficult for you to attend if the event is able to go ahead in person in September, please let us know when you send in your submission.

We are particularly keen to encourage submissions from PGRs, early career researchers and scholars incorporating analyses that address underrepresented and marginalised groups, be they focused on issues of race, class, disability, gender, sexuality, or beyond.

We welcome paper submissions on the theme of transformation. The world we live in is in constant flux. Even as we describe the environmental state or condition of a phenomenon in a particular time and place, transformation is already taking place. The issue of environmental change has animated environmental history since its inception, and climate change and environmental breakdown are giving the question of transformation additional impetus.

Transformations might include:

  • Transformation of landscapes (actual and imagined)
  • Historiographical transformations within environmental histories
  • Colonialism and environmental transformation
  • Urbanisation and environmental transformation
  • Energy transformations
  • Transformation of nature into commodities (capital)
  • Climate change
  • Becoming animal, becoming human
  • Extinctions past and present
  • Changing and new environmental movements 
  • Attempted shifts to more sustainable practices (e.g. the Transition Town network)
  • Resisting environmental transformations

We intend for these themes to be understood broadly, so that the programme represents the wide variety of environmental histories being researched in the UK today. Researchers in cognate disciplines, such as English, Geography, and Philosophy are encouraged to apply.

Submission Information and Guidelines:

Please send abstracts of 250 words, and a short biography of no more than 300 words to environmentalhistoryworkshop@gmail.com by 15 May 2020 (deadline extended).

A small number of small travel bursaries will be available to support PhDs and ECRs attending the workshop. There will be no registration fee.

The Third Annual Environmental History Workshop is organised by Dominic Berry (London School of Economics), Alice Harvey-Fishenden (University of Liverpool), Chris Pearson (University of Liverpool), and Shirley Ye (University of Birmingham). 

The Environmental History Workshop is an annual event hosted at different institutions. For further information, and to get involved, visit the workshop website.

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