Apologies for cross-posting
Converging Dichotomies
An interdisciplinary
approach to Nature and Culture
4th-5th May, 2017
Università degli Studi di Milano
Conference topic areas:
Philosophy, Anthropology, Geography
The complete call for abstract is available at:
http://eng.dipafilo.unimi.it/ecm/home
Call for abstracts:
The notions of Nature and Culture may appear as
essentially independent the one from the other for their literal definition.Indeed, it is considered one of the traditional
dichotomies in Western thought: Nature seems to be an extrinsic dimension of
Culture due to the absence of artificiality and development, which seems rather
to belong to the latter.
Nevertheless, there have been important philosophical
and scientific considerations that have structurally based their theoretical
proposition on the close relationship, often dialectical, between the endless
change of Nature and the becoming of Culture.
Consequently, the goal of the conference will be to provide an interdisciplinary debate through specific cases studies in the panorama of Human Sciences. Every session will be introduced by a remarkable keynote speech assessing a theoretical framework necessary for a broader contextualization of every case study.
Geography session:
Keynote
Speaker, Beth Rose
Middleton, University of California Davis, Geography
Following postmodernity and the crisis of the great narratives, Nature
and Culture have to be reconceptualized in a form of a new dialogical
relationship. In this sense, the rise of the new concept of the Anthropocene represents the public death of the modern
understanding of nature removed from society (Lorimer, 2012). Indeed, a
vision of Nature as an independent entity from Culture and man is no longer
sustainable.
In a geographical perspective, the dichotomy between Nature and Culture
has never been so strict and it has always been related with man and the way he
managed to live in his own environment. These two subjects set the foundation
of the whole discipline; Geography in its diachronic evolution has adopted an
array of different standpoints, ranging from the early environmentalist
theories to humanistic perspectives. What has always remained constant is the
interpretation of the relationship, which has always been conceived as a
dialogical system instead of a dichotomic one.
Recently, the environment seems to have acquired a more significant
role, due to the wide group of phenomena known as Global Change. Thus,
in this new era of Anthropocene, feedback reactions to the initial input given
by human activities are forcing humanity to a deep reconsideration of its
behavior toward the environment. The result is a new balance in the dialogical
relationship, where Culture could be seen as the main engine that moves the
adaptation processes providing local answers to global issues.
That being said, new fields of research can arise. How are different
communities - in different geographic regions - dealing with ecosystem changes,
land loss and resource exploitation? What consequences could be involved for
cultural identity, territorialization and the very sense of place? Finally, how these particular
examples translate to the global scale?
The aim of the session is to explore this new balance throughout
specific case studies and to provide interdisciplinary
debate through specific cases studies in the panorama of Human and
Environmental Geography. We invite authors to submit abstracts for oral
presentation in the following topics:
·
Resilience
and adaptation in endangered environments (particular attention will be given
to the Small Islands Developing States and the Alps)
·
Conservationism
and economic exploitation of natural resources
·
Climate change, ecosystems and traditional economies
·
Climate
change, impacts, adaptation,
and mitigation on local scales
·
Water
management, agriculture and conservation
·
Cultivation and adaptability in changing ecosystems
·
Heritage and Culture of wine in fragile environments
·
Patrimonialization:
methods and principles in landscape evaluation
·
Conservation
policy in cultural and natural heritage on local scale
·
Ecology
on the scale of the landscape
·
Historical
ecology
Paper Submission and Conference Guidelines:
Keynote speaker presentation will be 40 minutes long followed by 20
minutes for discussion; all other presentations will be 20 minutes long plus 10
minutes for discussion.
The language of the conference is only English.
We accept extended abstracts that should be prepared for a blind review
in a PDF format before February 17th.
We ask two files: in the first one, the candidate is supposed to write
the proposal and in the second one, we would need the following details: name,
institutional affiliation, contact information.
We invite proposals from graduate students and early
career researchers within three years of completion of their degree for papers
of approximately 2500 characters including bibliography. Please write
‘Milan PhD Conference Abstract Submission’ in the subject line of your email as
well as the year in which the PhD was awarded in the case of early career
researchers. Abstracts should be prepared for blind review, so ensure that your
abstract is free from any identifying personal details.
Please, submit your proposals to: [log in to unmask]
The acceptance notification will be given no later
than March 7th.
Participation at the conference is free of charge.
Meals will be provided for the length of the conference.
Organizers for Geography session:
Giorgio Masellis: [log in to unmask]
Emiliano Tolusso: [log in to unmask]
Scientific committee:
Valerio Bini
(Università degli Studi di Milano)
Luca Bonardi
(Università degli Studi di Milano)
Alice G. Dal Borgo
(Università degli Studi di Milano)
Olivier Jacquet (Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté)
Daniele Lorusso
(Università degli Studi di Milano)