Conference on the History of Science and Environmental History

An international workshop will take place on 8 and 9 June at the Centre for the History of Science (CEHIC) in which experts from both disciplines, the history of science and environmental history, in order to explore interactions between the two. The workshop will include the participation of international experts such as Marco Armiero from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.

06/06/2017

The workshop At the intersection of disciplines: History of Science and Environmental History will search for new answers to questions on how to write a modern history of environmental science, on to what extent historians focusing on the environment and on science can establish successful collaborations, and how narratives can be created from the interaction of both disciplines.

Participants will explore common issues such as the history of militancy, expertise, scientific authority, popular knowledge and scientific controversies, and many others, with the aim of formulating common questions and sharing reflections on methodologies. The conference aims to be a starting point for future academic collaborations.

The workshop will take place on 8 and 9 June in the seminar hall L3-05 at CEHIC and will include the participation of international experts such as Marco Armiero from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm; Stefania Barca and Santiago Gorostiza from the Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra; as well as researchers from ICTA-UAB Marta Pujadas, Mar Grau and Joan Martínez Alier; Ximo Guillem and José Ramón Bertomeu-Sanchez from the IHMC of the University of Valencia; and Agustí Nieto, Judit Gil and Fernando Vidal from CEHIC.

Workshop programme:

Thursday 8 June

10:00 a.m.: Agustí Nieto-Galan (CEHIC, UAB): “Introduction: how to write an ‘environmental’ history of science”
10:30 a.m.: Marco Armiero (Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm): “Seeing Like a Protester: Nature, Power, and Environmental Struggles”
11:45 a.m.: p.m. Coffee break
12:15 a.m.: Case studies:
           Santiago Gorostiza (Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra): "Dam failures as human-made disasters. An environmental history of the disaster of Ribadelago (1959)"
           Marta Pujadas (ICTA, UAB): “La història de l’Electroquímica de Flix. Qui pagarà els seus deutes socioambientals?” + Documentary film "Flix: atur o misèria", by Marta Pujadas and Arturo Hortas
2:00 p.m.: Lunch
3:30 p.m.: Ximo Guillem / José Ramón Bertomeu-Sánchez (IHMC, University of Valencia): "Following Poisons through Society (1800-2000): Current trends and narratives"
4:45 p.m. Coffee break
5:15 p.m.: Case studies:
           Mar Grau, (ICTA, UAB): "Prudent peasantries: multilevel adaptation to drought during the early modern period (NE Spain, 1600-1715)"
           Judit Gil-Farrero (CEHIC, UAB), “La protecció de la natura a Catalunya: del Franquisme a la Transició democràtica”

Friday 9 June

10:00 a.m.: Fernando Vidal (ICREA, CEHIC): “Endangerment, Biodiversity and Culture”
11:15 a.m.: Coffee break
11:45 a.m.: Stefania Barca (Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra), “The Anthropocene as meta-scientific narrative, and the alternate pasts of environmental history”
1:00 p.m. Joan Martínez-Alier (ICTA-UAB): “Concluding remarks”
          General discussion
2:00 p.m.: Lunch (end of workshop)