Dr. Sebastian Haumann

May 19th
12:22 PM

0 notes

The Making of Landscapes

Now I am already back from St Andrews for over a week and finally find the time to write some lines about the conference I attended there: “The Making of Landscapes”. Generally it was a very interesting set of presentations and lively discussions. Despite the fact that most contributions were very well researched and presented, I always wonder how it is possible to speak of landscapes only in terms of their cultural representation. Isn’t it relevant to give the physical shape and the physical properties of landscape more relevance than serving just as a backdrop for projections? Than again, we only know about landscapes through representations - don’t we?

July 14th
8:22 PM

0 notes

European Society for Environmental History

Received the official letter that I have successfully become a member of the European Society for Environmental History. It was not as much of a challenge as it might seem …

June 29th
1:34 PM

0 notes

ESEH 2011 in Turku

What a great atmosphere at the European Society for Environmental History here in Turku. It is really easy to get in touch with all kinds of people - and that’s what conferences are about, aren’t they. Also heard some interesting presentations and discussions (especially Heike Weber’s small session on waste was very inspiring for me). It’s also an interesting experience to be in Finland: some of my expectations have been proved wrong - people do speak quite a bit ;) Besides Turku is a an interesting city with some elements that remind me of small cities in the north of the US and some elements that resemble eastern Europe. Well, I guess that’s no surprise considering Finish history.

June 26th
11:08 AM

0 notes

ESEH 2011

The next conference is coming up right away. I am just back from Munich and almost off again to Turku - what a week.

March 12th
9:26 AM

0 notes

Talk on the “Great Flood of Sheffield”

Yesterday Shane Ewen (Leeds Met) gave a presentation at the Centre for Urban History: “Engineering Disaster: The Great Flood of Sheffield and the Cultural History of Man-made Disasters, 1864-1887”. A very vivid account of the disaster and the contemporary evaluation of it.

March 11th
12:36 PM

0 notes

Getting the BIG PICTURE

The discussions at yesterdays reading group on materiality were really getting me think about the big picture again. We had been reading the introduction to David Blackbourn’s “The Conquest of Nature”. He touches on a lot of essential questions relating to why and how to engage in environmental history. Even though he only hints at many things, his book is a great point to start thinking about new and necessary research.

March 4th
11:38 AM

0 notes

History and Natural Sciences

The first session of our Reading Group on “Materiality and Urban History” last night went well. For me, the discussion really showed how hard it is for historians to find a way to meaningfully relate to natural science. You can either view it from a kind of history of science perspective and highlight the natural science as a social construct - or you can take “natural laws” as a basis for historical research on environmental issues. Both points are valid - but in practice it will be hard to navigate between these two extremes which in a way are mutually exclusive.