RCC Newsletter, Issue 12

Dear Friends of the RCC,

As August begins and Europe is in the grip of its summer vacation, this edition of the newsletter is particularly trans-continental, reflecting the fact that RCC staff and fellows have, as usual, been busy around the world. So take your seats and join us on a quick tour of recent activities:

1. Before our trip begins, need some summer reading? Check out the newest edition of RCC Perspectives – “Sickness, Hunger, War, and Religion: Multidisciplinary Perspectives.’’ With its focus on archaeology and history in Egypt, South America, and Europe, there’s something for every destination.
   
   
2. Our summer journey starts in South America with the participation of Carson Fellows and RCC staff at the Latin American and Caribbean Society for Environmental History conference in Villa de Leyva, Colombia. There was a full day session on conservation with scholars and practitioners. Carson Fellows Claudia Leal and Stefania Gallini were elected Presidents of the Society at the conclusion of the meeting.
   
   
3. Jetting across the Pacific Ocean, Carson Fellow Don Worster and RCC Director Christof Mauch gave the inaugural speeches at the opening of the Center for Ecological History in Beijing, China. Carson Fellow Hou Shen is the deputy director of the Center; Worster will serve as an honorary director and part-time resident teacher and advisor.
   
   
4. London is not only the site of the summer Olympics, it was also home to the RCC conference Science, Space, and the Environment, which focused on the interactions between spatial dimensions, scientific and other forms of knowledge, and the physical environment. Representing the RCC at this event were co-conveners RCC Director Helmuth Trischler and Carson Fellow Simon Werrett as well as Carson Fellow Chiara Certoma.
   
   
5. In a brief excursion to Scotland, Research Associate Ben Tendler presented the Environment & Society Portal at the "Green Revolutions: Fiftieth Anniversary of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring" conferences held at the University of St. Andrews.
   
   
6. Turning our sights to North America, Carson Fellows have won book awards, taken on new positions, and assumed new editorial roles. Sherry Johnson’s book on climate and catastrophe in the Caribbean won the Gordon K. and Sybil Lewis Prize from the Caribbean Studies Association (CSA). Anne Milne has accepted a new position in the English Department at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC). And, Robert Gioielli has been appointed co-editor of the journal Ohio Valley History.
   
   
7. Back in Europe, staff and fellows have not only been winning research fellowships, they have also been actively travelling and presenting their research. Carson Fellow Ingo Heidbrink was awarded the LOEWE Fellowship at the LOEWE Research Center on Conflict Resolution at Frankfurt University. Portal team members Kimberly Coulter and Wilko Graf von Hardenberg presented the Environment & Society Portal at the 2012 International Digital Humanities conference in Hamburg. And, in Pisa, Carson Fellow Chiara Certoma gave a seminar on guerilla gardening.
   
   
8. Furthering our collaboration with the European Society for Environmental History, staff and fellows are participants at the ESEH summer schools in Flaran, France and St. Petersburg, Russia. Carson Fellows Carmel Finley, Andrea Kiss, Maya Peterson, and Anya Zilberstein are mentors; intern Michael Del Vecchio has been accepted as a participant in the St. Petersburg summer school.
   
   
9. At home in Munich, the Global Environments Summer Academy returns in August with an exciting program and participants from all over the world; organized by Carson Fellow Gary Martin and RCC Director Christof Mauch, the candidates will spend three weeks listening to presentations, reading, and discussing the human dimensions of global environmental change.
   
   
10. In the virtual world, the RCC is now on iTunes as part of the LMU iTunes University. Many of our fellows’ videos are now available for download—more videos will be added in the coming months.
    
    
11. Position Announcements at the RCC
    
    International Curatorial Fellowship, Deutsches Museum
    
    Web Developer, Environment & Society Portal
    
    
12. Upcoming Calls for Papers
    
    Environmental Legacies of European Wars, session proposal for ESEH 2013, organized by Carson Fellow Martin Schmid
    
    
13. Upcoming Events
    
    26-30 Aug: Special Sessions on Risk and Climate at the 4th International Disaster and Risk Conference in Davos, Switzerland.
    
    28-31 Aug: ESEH Summer School, St. Petersburg, Russia
    
    18 Sept: Lunchtime Colloquium Double Session with Chiara Certoma and Andrea Kiss
    
    02 Oct: Lunchtime Colloquium Double Session with Samuel Temple and Melanie Arndt
    
    03-04 Oct: Energy Resources: Europe and Its Former Colonies (workshop)

As always, to stay up to date on the RCC, check out our website, our Facebook page, or follow us on Twitter.

Best wishes,

The Rachel Carson Center