Histoire des humanités environnementales

Environmental Humanities in Historical Perspective

Call for papers

The Ohio State University Department of Classics, in collaboration with OSU’s Discovery Theme for Environmental Humanities and the Humanities Institute, is proud to announce its 15th annual graduate student colloquium: Human | Nature: Environmental Humanities in Historical Perspective.

A sense of urgency characterizes contemporary discussions about ecological welfare and anthropogenic effects on the non-human environment. At the core of this discourse lie questions with a long history of artistic, philosophical, political and religious expression. The proper management of space and resources, the negotiation of shifting boundaries between the “human” and “natural” worlds (however one chooses to define these categories), as well as the contemplation of humanity’s place among the living and nonliving co-inhabitants of Earth are all pursuits basic to human survival and livelihood. Moreover, the ways earlier generations found to represent the natural world they experienced and their human community's place within it have shaped the way we think and talk about such matters today.

This colloquium will bring together scholars from a range of humanities disciplines to share and discuss theoretically-informed approaches to the study of human-environmental relationships throughout history. We encourage contributions from graduate students in all fields of the humanities, including anthropology, archaeology, art history, classics, English, geography, history, landscape architecture, philosophy, theology and related fields.

Possible topics include:

• The concept of nature and the natural, or wilderness and the wild 

• The construction of space and place in literature or the physical environment

• Landscapes and seascapes in literary or artistic representations

• Relations between urban and agricultural/pastoral zones

• Demarcation of sacred space

• Hybridization, cultivation and domestication

• Environmental effects of technological developments

• Permanence, impermanence and shifting boundaries

• Habitats and dwelling spaces

Keynote speaker: Timothy Saunders, Volda University College

Opening remarks: Chris Otter, The Ohio State University


Abstracts of 250-300 words and any inquiries may be sent to osuclassics2018@gmail.com.

Abstracts should be submitted no later than November 15th, 2017.