Transformations in Environment and Society
The Rachel Carson Center hosts a Kolleg-Project funded by the Federal Ministry of Research and Education (Käte Hamburger Kolleg). Its thematic focus is on “Transformations in Environment and Society.” The project is led by RCC Director Christof Mauch and by the Director of Research at the Deutsches Museum Helmuth Trischler. Until July 2019 the project offered a fellowship program and organized multiple events. During its initial phase, the research focus of this project was on “International Environmental History: Nature as a Cultural Challenge” (2009–2015). From 2015 to 2021 the KHK took up its new research focus on “Transformations in Environment and Society.” The term “transformation” opened up both temporal and spatial connections—the transformative link between environment and society on the one hand and between history and the present on the other. Individual researchers (Carson Fellows and Visiting Scholars) have examined the interrelationship between environmental and social changes, and in particular the reasons—the social engines, political factors, cultural perceptions, and environmental conditions—behind these transformations.
During its current and final phase (2021–2023), the project focuses on making its research findings available through publications, including Springs: The Rachel Carson Center Review (2022–). Former fellows of this project are organized in its alumni organization, the Society of Fellows.