ICEHO Bulletin 5
July 2015

Page | 1

From Jane Carruthers:
The International Consortium of Environmental
History Organizations is a ‘network of networks’,and between Congresses, we want to work
actively to promote environmental history in allits forms: as scholarship and research, informing
public policy and education, and in promoting
collaboration between environmental historians
around the world. Once every five years we meetfor a Congress. In between, we are joined by ourwebsite:

http://www.iceho.org/
Welcome to a bumper newsletter – something toread in your summer or winter break (dependingon where you are in the world).
Highlights include a special letter from KathleenBrosnan, the current President of one of ourlargest member organizations, the American
Society of Environmental History, and a reportfrom the big European Society of Environmental
History conference at Versailles pictured here

(Photo Ruth Morgan)

ESEH met just as this Bulletin went to press. We
also have an update about the bid from the city of
Guimarães to become a Green Capital fromimmediate past president, Jane Carruthers, who iscontinuing the connections forged by our World
Congress last year.
Please keep sending in the news for our regularbulletins. Deadline for material for the next one is30 September.

Libby Robin (President ICEHO),ANU, Canberra Australia

A very cordial relationship developed over the 2013
World Congress of Environmental History between
ICEHO and the City of Guimarães and the Universityof Minho. This has been maintained with theappointment of ICEHO Board members JaneCarruthers, Verena Winiwarter and Mauro
Agnoletti to the Scientific and Monitoring
Committee that will assist the city in its application
to become the Green Capital of Europe in 2020.
Thus far Guimarães has received the accolades ofWorld Heritage Site (2001), European Cultural
Capital (2012) and European City of Sport (2013) sothe award of Green Capital would complete its
record as the outstanding and most prestigious allround city on the continent!
Jane and Mauro recently attended the inaugural
meeting of the Committee, delighted to renew theirfriendship with, among others, the Mayor Dr
Domingos Bragança, the Rector Professor Antonio
Cunha, the keynote speaker for the World Congress
Mohan Munasinghe and Professor Estelita Vaz whochaired the Local Organising Committee last year.
The award of Green Capital is made on the basis of12 environmental indicators, issues such as wastemanagement, water supply and treatment, airquality, mobility and energy. In addition to thesetechnical matters the human elements ofenvironmental history, commitment, enthusiasm
and attitude are critically important and it is tothese, in particular, that ICEHO can contribute. In
the evening after the inaugural committee meeting,the public of Guimarães gathered in the large
auditorium of the cultural centre of Vila Flor (thosewho attended the WCEH will recall this as the siteof the plenary sessions) to hear details of theplanned application, to learn how various aspects
will develop and how they might contribute. The

presentation was greeted with much applause andenthusiasm. The city is using the Green Capital
application not only for the prestigious honour of
being a winner but to ensure that it is a model ofurban sustainability and environmental diligence.
This is an extremely exciting initiative and one that
Page | 2 ICEHO is very pleased and honoured to be part of.
For further information see the following sites
relating to Guimarães Mais Verde (some in English,
some in Portuguese):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guimar%C3%A3es
www.cm-guimaraes.pt/pages/1092
www.fpguimaraes.pt/guimaraes-vai-estar-mais-verde/
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpxKFTo1T4E
Guimarães Cidade Verde - Os Verdes
www.osverdes.pt/.../guimaraes-cidade-verde.php

The summit of Mount Penha overlooking the city of
Guimarães (Photo: Jane Carruthers)

News from Members

In addition to our annual meeting, thepublication of our quarterly journal,
Environmental History, and other member
services, ASEH recently dedicated many of its
resources to promoting the professional
development of our graduate student
members. ASEH offers the Hal Rothman
Dissertation Fellowship for scholarly research,a residential fellowship at the Newberry
Library, and travel grants for the annual
meeting, including some designated forinternational students and minority students.
When circumstances permit, ASEH provides
competitive student internships inpartnerships with organizations such as theSmithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in2015.
Our members craft periodic “how-to” columns
for our quarterly newsletter covering topics
from publishing articles to applying for grants
or becoming involved in environmental justiceprojects. Our graduate student caucus elects aliaison who participates as a full member ofthe ASEH executive committee. The caucus
also has developed a Graduate Student Writing
Workshop during the annual meeting during
which established scholars lend their advice todissertation candidates in environmental
history.

From Kathleen Brosnan

ASEH Continues to Expand
Member Services
The American Society for Environmental
History is thriving, thanks to its members andvolunteer committees. Attendance at ourmeetings in Toronto (2013) and Washington,D.C. (2015) approached 700, and ASEH topped
that mark for its conference in San Francisco(2014). Attendees from all over the world
participate in several days of sessions, fieldtrips, and other events. We will meet in Seattle
in 2016 and Chicago in 2017 and hope thatmany ICEHO participants can join us.

Finally, ASEH recently launched a mentoring
program which matches graduate students or
post-graduates within five years of theirdegrees. Mentors come from universities andcolleges, but also include professionals fromoutside the academy, giving our mentees haveaccess to a wide range of professional
experiences.
Environmental history remains a vital, vibrantscholarly field and ASEH remains dedicated toits past, present, and future – a future
captured in the interests and activities of ourvalued graduate student members.

Kathleen A. Brosnan,President, American Society
for Environmental History---------------------------------------------------------

Conference reports:
From Ruth Morgan at ESEH

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ESEH Versailles 2015
This week environmental historians fromaround the world descended upon beautiful
Versailles, France, for the 8th Biennial
Conference of the European Society for
Environmental History (30 June to 4 July). The
Université de Versailles, St Quentin En
Yvelines, hosted our discussions this week andwe found much-needed respite from France’sscorching summer heat in the shade of thecampus grounds. We were treated to a warm
welcome at the Espace Richaud by ESEH
President, Professor Dolly Jørgensen, and localdignatories, including the Deputy Mayor, theuniversity president, the Chair of the Local
Organising Committee, Professor Grégory
Quénet. Professor Quénet reminded us of theimportance of our meeting in the lead up tothe COP21 in Paris in November and December
this year, and emphasised the need for thewider recognition of the role of the humanities
in tackling climate change.
We returned to this theme the following
evening in the first plenary session of theconference at the stunning Théâtre
Montansier. There, the head of the Climate
Negotiation Team of France, Paul Watkinson,
and Nobel-prize winning French climate
scientist, Jean Jouzel, treated us to theirinsights into the road to COP21 and tookquestions from the audience about thechallenges ahead.

On Thursday afternoon conference delegates
had the opportunity to explore historicVersailles on guided tours, which included thePotager du Roi and the Valée de Chevreuse
Natural Park.
Countless macarons, croissants, and coffee
fuelled engaging and thought-provoking
discussions prompted by conference papers,
roundtables, films and posters. True to theconference theme of ‘Greening History:
studying the environment across disciplines:
past, present and future’, we sharedexperiences of interdisciplinary engagementwith the social sciences and sciences, and themethodological opportunities and challenges
that such interactions offer.
We celebrated a successful conference andtoasted ESEH prize-winners in the grounds ofthe Château de Versailles over a delicious mealat La Petite Venise, the site of Louis XIV’sworkshops.
On behalf of all conference delegates, I
sincerely thank the ESEH, the Local Organising
Committee, and the Program Committee for
their tireless efforts to bring us together in
Versailles for a week of stimulating
conversations. I’m sure we’re all looking
forward to Zagreb in 2017!
Ruth Morgan,
Monash University, Australia---------------------------------------------------

Upcoming conferences

http://aseh.net/conferenceworkshops/seattle-conference-2016

Environmental History and Its
Publics
March 30 - April 3, 2016

--------------------------------------------------------------Page | 4

TRANSDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH CENTRE
CULTURE, SPACE AND MEMORY
Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Porto,
Portugal
TH

4 CITCEM CONFERENCE
Crossing Borders:Connecting Edges of Environmental History

Porto, Portugal CITCEM/FLUP
5 to 7 November 2015
(Website will be available soon)
The CITCEM - Transdisciplinary Culture, Space andMemory Research Centre, is honored to organize its
fourth conference, with focus on the theme ofenvironmental history - Crossing Borders: Connecting
Edges of Environmental History, 5 to 7 November 2015,
in the Faculty of Arts of the University of Porto. TheCITCEM Strategic Plan sets out four lines of researchcross-cutting different research groups. Environmental
history and maritime culture represent one of thestrategic lines, bringing together interests in populationand health, territorial cohesion, cultural diversity andtransnational history.
We would like to welcome all researchers to present new
research and provide an account of the state of art.

KEYNOTE
Mauro Agnoletti(University of Florence)
http://horizons.mruni.eu/speakers/mauroagnoletti/

Abstracts accepted by the Scientific Committee andpresented in the meeting, will be published.

FEES: Free** for CITCEM researchers, students andparticipants presenting papers – mandatory
registration
Auditing participants (not presenting) 10€
thFees include a day trip 7 November. (**excludes
travel, accommodation and meals.)
Sessions will be organized by thematic topics, according
to individual or panel proposals. The following are someof the topics which will be considered from differentperspectives and from a long term view:• Artistic explorations in environment• Climate change• Disasters and risks• Endangered bodies• Energy and changing circumstances• Environmental conflicts• Transplanting iconic species• Imperialism and environment• Literature and environment/ nature in literature• Metaphors and perceptions of landscape change• Science and environment• Well-being, societal and environmental resilience

Early career researchers are strongly encouraged
both in poster sessions and full presentations
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE:ORGANIZING COMMITTEE:

Arnaldo de Sousa Melo(LAB2PT/UM)
Cristina Joanaz de Melo
(IHC/FCSH/UNL)Inês Amorim(CITCEM/FLUP/UP)
Lino Augusto Tavares Dias
(CITCEM/FLUP/UP)
Luís Espinha da Silveira(IHC/FCSH/UNL)
Manuela Martins(LAB2PT/UM)
Maria Cristina Cunha(CITCEM/FLUP/UP)
Maria Norberta Amorim(CITCEM/FLUP/UP)
Pedro Vilas Boas Tavares(CITCEM/FLUP/UP)
Sérgio Rodrigues(CITCEM/FLUP/UP)

Carlota Santos (CITCEM/UM)
Fabíola Pires (CITCEM)
Inês Amorim(CITCEM/FLUP/UP)
Ismael Vieira (CITCEM)John Greenfield(CITCEM/FLUP/UP)
Luís Alberto Marques Alves(CITCEM/FLUP/UP)
Luís Silva (CITCEM)
Sara Pinto (CITCEM)
Zulmira Santos(CITCEM/FLUP/UP)

Secretariat:
Marlene Cruz

Official languages: Portuguese, English, French andSpanish.

Important deadlines:
31 July 2015: Deadline for abstract submission(max. 500 words; with indication of the respective
thematic area), with CV (max. 200 words).
15 September 2015: Submission results.
15 October 2015: Deadline for registration.
CONTACT: hambiental.citcem@letras.up.pt------------------------------------------------------------

Jane Carruthers Honoured
Immediate Past
President, JaneCarruthers was nameda finalist for the2014/15 NationalScience andTechnology
Forum/BHP BILLITONAwards in SouthAfrica. For an
Individual for an
outstanding
contribution toScience, Engineering,Technology andInnovation (SETI) overa lifetime

NEW MEMBERSOklahoma History Thrilled toJoin ICEHOPage | 5
The University of Oklahoma Department ofHistory was pleased to become a member of ICEHO
last year. My colleague Sterling Evans and I
attended the first two meetings of the World
Congress of Environmental History in Copenhagenin 2009 and Guimarães in 2014 and I had anopportunity to participate on the 2014 programcommittee under Graeme Wynn’s excellent
leadership. Thrilled by our experiences at theCongresses and eager to promote transnational andinterdisciplinary environmental history, we believethat our continuing support of ICEHO and its
mission is important to the discipline ofenvironmental history and essential to the goals ofour department.
With a renowned faculty of nearly 40 members, theOU History Department offers B.A. and M.A.
degrees and the Ph.D. in four core fields, including
the environmental history of the United States andLatin America. Our environmental history program
began when Donald Pisani, former ASEH president,
taught here from the early 1990s to 2012 andtrained many fine graduate students. And ourfaculty members coordinate with colleagues across
campus in the Honors College, the History ofScience Department, and the Department ofGeography and Sustainability who share ourinterest in the environment.
OU possesses amazing resources for scholars
interested in environmental history, including thecelebrated Western History Collections, the Carl
Albert Center for Congressional Research, a premierHistory of Science Collection, and the Sam Noble
Museum of Natural History, a research division ofOU housing more than 10 million objects andspecimens.
Norman, Oklahoma, is one of the three “mostaffordable small cities in America” according to arecent survey. And the OU History Department
eagerly welcomes visiting scholars from around theworld to utilize our archival collections andparticipate in the intellectual life of the department,
including lectures, symposia, and our researchworkshop. We encourage queries from any scholars
considering Fulbright applications or otherfellowships.
Kathleen A. Brosnan, Travis Chair of Modern
American History, University of Oklahoma======================================
From James Beattie, New Zealand:
I'm delighted to announce the website for the Waikato
Historical Research Unit has been
finalized: http://www.waikato.ac.nz/fass/research/cent
res-units/hru… with links to research associates, institutional
research collaborators, public seminar and lectures
series and research
Dr. James Beattie, Director, Historical Research Unit,
University of Waikato, Email: jbeattie@waikato.ac.nz-------------------------------

Environment and History

Highlights August 2015
(Vol 21, no. 3)
PapersMilja van Tielhof ‘Forced Solidarity:
Maintenance of Coastal Defences Along theNorth Sea Coast in the Early Modern Period’
Antonio Gai, ‘Guilty, Sexual and Local: Naturefor the Nation in the Italian Narrative of theBel Paese (19th century)’

Fenneke Sysling, 'Protecting the Primitive
Natives': Indigenous People as Endangered
Species in the Early Nature Protection
Movement, 1900-1940’
Paula Johanna Saari, ‘Marketing Nature: TheCanadian National Parks Branch andPage | 6Constructing the Portrayal of National Parks inPromotional Brochures, 1936-1970’
And a new record number of…
ReviewsTom Williamson, An Environmental History ofWildlife in England, 1650-1950 (Etienne Benson)
Walter Johnson, River of Dark Dreams: Slavery andEmpire in the Cotton Kingdom (Troy Vettese)
Michael Chaplin et al, Tyne View: A Walk aroundthe Port of Tyne (Leona Skelton)
Karen Kilcup, Fallen Forests: Emotion, Embodiment,and Ethics in American Women's EnvironmentalWriting, 1781-1924 (Timothy Sweet)
William Beinart, Karen Middleton and Simon Pooley,eds., Wild Things: Nature and the Social
Imagination (Julie Hughes)
Matthew Morse Booker, Down by the Bay: San
Francisco's History Between the Tides (Laura A.
Watt)
Astrid Kander, Paolo Malanima and Paul Warde,Power to the People: Energy in Europe over the Last
Five Centuries (Francesco X. Barca-Salom)
John K. Walton and Jason Wood, eds., The Making
of a Cultural Landscape: The English Lake District asa Tourist Destination, 1750-2010 (Harriet Ritvo)

Congratulations on the new Impact Factor 0.778!!

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Do you want to join ICEHO?
From as little as $US100/year.
Information online:
http://www.iceho.org/membership/Membership form:
http://www.iceho.org/wpcontent/uploads/2013/01/ICEHO-MembershipApplication.pdf
Or contact treasurer, Steve Anderson
Steve.Anderson@duke.edu
If you have contributions for the next bulletin,
please send to your regional representative:
Alan MacEachern (Canada) amaceach@uwo.ca
James Beattie(Oceania)jbeattie@waikato.ac.nz
John McNeill (US) mcneillj@georgetown.edu
José Padua (South America) jpadua@terra.com.br
Mauro Agnoletti (Europe)mauro.agnoletti@unifi.it
Ranjan Chakrabarti (India)ranjan.jadavpur@gmail.com
Shen Hou (China) houshen414@gmail.com

Or to libby.robin@anu.edu.au-----------------------------------------------------More talking on the lawns at ESEH Versailles