From 18 until 22 August this year many environmental historians, historians of technology, artists and discussion-enthusiasts are going to meet up in Uppsala, Sweden. The European Society for Environmental History invites us to participate in this lovely city about an hour north of Stockholm. The biannual ESEH conferences are always a highlight in any historian’s calendar. Therefore, it pains me a little that this year I cannot attend, due to the obligations of my current job. Nevertheless, in the following I do take the liberty to add my 50 cents on this year’s programme (especially from a nuclear and energy perspective), to highlight my personal must-go-to events, and to wish you all attending tons of fun!
Programme (abbreviated version)
Programme highlights
On Monday, 18 August 3-6pm, the NEXTGATe Worksop “Letdowns, Underachievements, Shortcomings? Reimagining Failure for a Healthier Academic Ecology” takes place under the chairing eyes of Monica Vasile and Roger Norum. Here, especially early career scholars can exchange ideas on how the normalisation of failure takes of the edge of something so fundamental to the research process.
Starting on Tuesday, 19 August 11am-12.30pm, the first of multiple sessions on “Energy Transitions and Energyscapes” takes place. Our former Nuclearwaters-colleague Melina Antonia Buns will chair this event. In general, energy discussions are all over the trope of transitions, whether imagined or not, and this format will certainly help to navigate novel ideas on it. The second leg will take place in the afternoon, 2-3.30pm.
Elena Kochetkova and Doubravka Olsakova invite us to a discussion on “Zero Growth and Climate Change in Eastern Europe Before and After 1989” in the same afternoon, 4-5.30pm.
On Wednesday, 2-3.30pm, Benjamin Bererle and Reinhild Kreis chair a session on the – unfortunately – everlasting question of “How to Organize Scientific Conferences (like ESEH) without Exacerbating the Climate Crisis?”, befittingly in an hybrid format allowing for digital and in-person attendance.
Shortly afterwards, from 4-5.30pm, the panel “Nuclearises Waterbodies. Following Protagonists Building Nuclear Landscapes” will bring together diverse scholars that work on the linkage of nuclear and water, chaired by Siegfried Evens. I would have been part of this panel and I can only advertise to go there and to join the discussion!
So, whether you are participating at ESEH in person or digital, I wish you a marvelous time in (digital) Sweden, with hopefully still great weather and outstanding scientific discussions!
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Achim Klüppelberg 