Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society
The Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society (RCC) is an international, interdisciplinary center for research and education in environmental humanities located in Munich, Germany. It was founded in 2009 as a joint initiative of the LMU Munich (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) and the Deutsches Museum, and is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.[1] The Center is named after the American biologist, nature writer, and environmentalist, Rachel Carson.
The Rachel Carson Center's directors are Christof Mauch of LMU Munich and Helmuth Trischler of the Deutsches Museum.
Research
The Rachel Carson Center facilitates research concerning the interaction between human agents and nature. Among its goals is strengthening the role of the humanities in current political and scientific debates about the environment. Generally, the Center hosts a rotating group of approximately 15 "Carson Fellows," scholars from a variety of national and disciplinary backgrounds.[2]
The Rachel Carson Center centers its research around six "thematic clusters" that embody the profile of the institute[3]
- Natural Disasters and Cultures of Risk
- Resource Use and Conservation
- Ecological Imperialism
- Transformation of Landscapes
- Environmental Ethics
- Environmental Knowledge and Knowledge Societies
Natural Disasters and Cultures of Risk
This research focuses on the risk humans have faced of material destruction by natural disasters. It examines "cultures of disaster," namely the protective measures societies have taken to safeguard against the impacts of natural disasters and how these societies have responded when they were affected by such disasters. Topics such as "cultural perceptions of risk," the social and ecological considerations of settling in high-risk areas, and depictions of ecological disasters and remembrance have been covered at the Center.
Resource Use and Conservation
This research cluster covers societies' reactions to diminishing natural resources. Much of the work examines what types of practices and discourses were established to respond to these concerns of the supplies of resources. Its topics include historical cultural comparisons, technical solutions, and accompanying thought about the use of natural resources.
Ecological Imperialism
This research covers the impact of imperialism on the environment, as well as on colonial societies. Its topics include the introduction of national parks and the transferring of non-native plant and animal species and foreign environmental policies. In addition, this research discusses other associated impacts of colonialism on environmental knowledge, such as enhanced surveying, cartography and development planning. Furthermore, the research examines notions of wilderness and cultural depictions of domestication.
Transformation of Landscapes
This research focuses on agricultural development and societal adjustment to ecological alterations, centering on questions of globalization of trade, technological development, and infrastructural changes, all potentially associated with landscape transformations.
Environmental Ethics
This research focuses on the politicization and ethical debates that surround topics generally associated with nature and environmental sciences. It centers on human perceptions and engagement with nature, and the resulting cultural context of environmental awareness. For example, a basic question addressed under this research is the values relation to environmentalism: is there is an obligation to future generations? Works in this cluster include assessment of the role of media, modern political discourse, and the theology of sustainability.[4]
Environmental Knowledge and Knowledge Societies
This research cluster covers notions of knowledge about nature and the environment, centering on the overlap of environmental history and the history of science. Research draws from the emergence of environmental knowledge towards the end of the twentieth century in biology, agriculture, and forestry. It addresses questions of modern research and draws results from interdisciplinary methods, connecting fields not often associated with environmental studies with ecological discourse.
Activities
In addition to the research conducted through the Rachel Carson Center, the Center hosts a series of public colloquia to present and discuss the work of its researchers, as well as that of local and visiting academics working on related topics. The Rachel Carson Center also directs an outreach program, which has included leading exhibitions at the Deutsches Museum and elsewhere. The RCC is also developing a digital portal with the aim to improve accessibility to environmental humanities documents.
The Rachel Carson Center offers a PhD program through LMU Munich titled "Environment and Society," which is aimed at doctoral candidates who are researching topics combining nature, culture, and society.
Publications
The Rachel Carson Center is represented in print through International Environmental History, an English-language book series developed in collaboration with the European Society for Environmental History and published by Berghahn Books[5] and through Umwelt und Gesellschaft, a German-language series with Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.[6] In addition, the Center publishes a paper series RCC Perspectives, which are viewable online and in a print edition.
External Links
Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society Homepage
References
- ^ "About Rachel Carson Center" Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society.
- ^ "History professor honored with Rachel Carson Fellowship"
- ^ Christof Mauch and Helmuth Trischler, "RCC Perspectives Issue 1, International Environmental History: Nature as a Cultural Challenge":
- ^ Markus Vogt, “Climate justice: An ethical analysis of the conflicts, rights, and incentives surrounding CO2 Emissions,” and “Sustainability and climate justice from a theological perspective,” RCC Perspectives (Munich, 2010).
- ^ "ESEH Project Plan 2009-2011"
- ^ "Umwelt und Gesellschaft with Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht"
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