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Animal history seminar with Jamie Kreiner

History in relation: bringing animals and environment into the mainstream. This seminar is internal to the Department of History and Classical Studies.

Info about event

Time

Monday 20 June 2022,  at 14:00 - 16:00

Location

Nobelparken, building 1461-516

Organizer

Richard Cole

In this seminar featuring visiting scholar Jamie Kreiner (Professor of History at the University of Georgia, author of Legions of Pigs in the Early Medieval West (2020, Yale University Press)), we will discuss experiences of, and the potential for, bringing animals and the environment into mainstream historical research, teaching and dissemination. While animal and environmental history have to some extent proceeded in their own siloes, this is beginning to change, with Kreiner’s work being an example of a medieval history that starts with an animal – in this case the pig – but speaks to a broader audience. With two recent animal-focused PhDs in the department and several faculty members exploring animal topics, it seems a good time to discuss opportunities for research growth in this area. Furthermore, with the related climate and biodiversity crises being the dominant concerns of our time, it is worth considering how history departments might narrate the historical roots of contemporary crises in a way that enhances student understanding and public discourse about these issues.

Participants in the seminar will have the opportunity to share their ideas and experiences, as well as contribute to a ‘paper share’ – a bank of accessible texts that might spark inspiration for teaching and research. Discussion will centre around the following questions:

  1. Why bring animals and the environment into the history mainstream? An opportunity to discuss the potentials and pitfalls for integrating animals and the environment into other areas of history research, teaching and dissemination.
  2. What are we already doing? Sharing ways in which animals and environment already feature in history teaching and research at Aarhus University and beyond, and discussing how they might be reframed or emphasised in relation to animal and environmental history.
  3. How might we do more? Sharing ideas for furthering animal and environmental research and teaching in history.

    This seminar is internal to the Department of History and Classical Studies.

See poster for the event.