Climate Histories Seminar Series

The Climate Histories seminar series began as a graduate research group funded by the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH). Running since October 2011, the series was co-convened by the Departments of Social Anthropology, Geography, and the Engineering Department's Centre for Sustainable Development.

The aim is to bring together people from a range of academic and non-academic backgrounds including the sciences, arts, humanities, and social sciences, and those working within policy, industry, activism, and media. Together we discuss past, present, and future environments and debate how to tackle the challenges presented by the changing climate.

Since October 2016 the group has continued an occasional series of talks and events hosted by the Mongolia & Inner Asia Studies Unit.

The key questions we ask are:

What can we learn about climate change from history?

How do people envision their future environments?

How do people gain knowledge of their environments, and why does this knowledge matter?

How can different disciplines work together to develop our understanding?

During the academic year (2015-2016) the seminar series was based on the  “Paris 2015” climate conference (COP21), which featured global political leaders to determine the future of climate change politics for decades to come. Paris 2015 was a crucial conference  achieved a new international agreement on the climate applicable to all countries, with the aim of keeping global warming below 2°C.

Throughout the seminar series we will invite specialists with a direct connection to, or research interest in specific themes such as the relationship between science and policy; political engagement with climate change; the role of religion and morality; issues surrounding gender and indigenous knowledge and the role of government in mitigating against climate-induced challenges.

Our most recent seminar took place on 28th February 2017, details below.

Charlie Kennel: Visiting Research Fellow, Centre for Science and Policy, Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Christ's College, and Director Emeritus, Vice-Chancellor, and Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego.

A talk on climate change entitled: "Climate - The Enigma Wrapped Inside a Mystery" with comments from Hildegard Diemberger and Richard Fraser (MIASU).