Archive for April 2011
New Article: “Past connections and present similarities in slave ownership and fossil fuel usage” by Jean-François Mouhot
Climatic Change
Volume 105, Numbers 1-2, 329-355, DOI: 10.1007/s10584-010-9982-7
http://www.springerlink.com/content/w310wk5g49w83650
In this article, network member Mouhot compares the economic and social roles of slavery and fossil fuels throughout history, and argues that “in differing ways, suffering resulting (directly) from slavery and (indirectly) from the excessive burning of fossil fuels are now morally comparable. When we emit carbon dioxide at a rate that exceeds what the ecosystem can absorb, when we deplete non-renewable resources, we indirectly cause suffering to other human beings. Similarly, cheap oil facilitates imports of goods from countries with little social protection and hence help externalise oppression. The conclusion draws on the lessons which may be learned by Climate Change campaigners from the campaigns to abolish slavery: environmental apathy can be opposed effectively if we learn from what worked in the fight against this inhuman institution” (from the abstract).
A shorter version appears in the History News Network at:
http://hnn.us/articles/134463.html
If you have publications to announce, please let us know!
Medieval weather and the natural order session
Call For Papers: Medieval Weather and the Natural Order
New Chaucer Society Congress, Portland OR July 23-26, 2012
Organizer: Robert Stanton (robert.stanton@bc.edu)
Paul Dutton has written that “‘weather’ is properly historical and stubbornly subjective, since it involves humans in time thinking about it and how it affects their lives.” How were meteorological phenomena in the late Middle Ages observed, described, and interpreted? Recent work in ecocriticism has signaled the endlessly fluid and negotiable character of nature; can we reconfigure the notion of “natural phenomena” as a negotiated interaction among divine, human, and physical orders? Submissions to this panel might address the reception of storms, floods, earthquakes, or droughts across genres; a comparison of representations of weather in textual and visual sources; or the relationship between generalized and archetypal descriptions of weather events and their strategic deployment as narrative and rhetorical elements. Please send a one-paragraph abstract by June 1, 2011 to Robert Stanton, Department of English, Boston College
<from Environmental History Network for the Middle Ages>
Call for Papers: Frost, Ice and Snow. Cold Climate in Russian History.
Focusing on the factor of climate, this conference will discuss and connect new approaches to Russian environmental history. The goal of the conference is to explore the relevance of environmental historical research questions for Russian history on the basis of climatic conditions. Furthermore, the conference will establish a network of colleagues who work on the environmental history of Russia and the Soviet Union.
This conference will be held from February 16-18 in Moscow, no doubt during appropriately frigid winter weather. Abstracts (500 words) and a short CV should be submitted by 30 June 2011 to the following address: julia.herzberg@carsoncenter.lmu.de.
For more see the announcement on the ESEH website.
Thanks!
Many thanks on behalf of Sam and I to those who attended our climate history breakfast at the ASEH conference in Phoenix. We were delighted by the turnout and will be incorporating your suggestions as we continue to build the site in coming weeks and months. Stay tuned for a short writeup covering the meeting, which will be featured in our meetings and events section. If you’d like to get involved, please don’t hesitate to set up a wordpress account and send us a message with your email account.
