REPORT(H)A is a Portuguese network dedicated to Environmental History.
It was developed through the early collaborative networking of four R & D Institutes and Universities: CITCEM (Transdisciplinary Research Centre Culture, Space and Memory, U. Porto), CES (Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra), IHC (Institute of Contemporary History, NOVA – Universidade Nova de Lisboa) and University of Minho. They were the central network node.
Why 1st Conference of REPORT(H)A
4th CITCEM Conference - Crossing Borders: Connecting Edges of ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY
http://www.citcem.org/4encontro/index.html
Porto, Portugal, FLUP, 5 to 7 November 2015
Open speech by Inês Amorim on behalf of the Organising Committee of the 4th Conference of the Centre of Transdisciplinary Research on Culture, Space and Memory (CITCEM) of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of The University of Porto, Portugal.
We pretend to justify why this conference on Environmental History happens here and now, sponsored by CITCEM and the Faculty of Arts and Humanities (FLUP).
Indeed, two years ago, Stefania Barca from the Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra (CES) and myself, Inês Amorim, from CITCEM, we wrote a small essay about Environmental History in Portugal (Environment and History Journal 18 (2012): 155–158 https://www.ces.uc.pt/myces/UserFiles/livros/1097_Notepad41.pdf). We pointed some research initiatives, seminars and projects in the field of environmental history like the first meeting on environmental history in Portuguese speaking countries, that had take place in March 2012 at the CES (http://www.ces.uc.pt/publicacoes/cescontexto/ficheiros/cescontexto_debates_i.pdf).
Meanwhile I was elected in the ESEH at Munich as Portuguese representative to the European Society (http://eseh.org/about-eseh/regions/portugal/) with some responsibilities in the dissemination and improvement of Portuguese Environmental Studies.
In this context the CITCEM organized the Summer School under the topic The Sea as a whole - Ideological reservoir and environmental concerns, 5th Summer School in Environmental History, Porto, Portugal // 4-8 July 2014 (http://eseh.org/summer-school-the-sea-as-a-whole) a four-day ESEH graduate student Summer School which had taken place immediately before the 2nd World Congress on Environmental History in Guimarães, Portugal. Therefore at this world Congress (Arnaldo de Melo from University of Minho, Cristina Joanaz de Melo, from Contemporary History Institute - New University of Lisbon, and myself, Inês Amorim, from CITCEM-FLUP) we organized a session named ‘Creating a lasting legacy from WCEH 2014: Environmental histories of the Portuguese world’ (http://www.wceh2014.ecum.uminho.pt/), in order to create the Portuguese Environmental History Network connected with the European Society for Environmental History.
So, it is with great pleasure that we announce the implementation of this idea and REPORT(H)A – Portuguese Network of Environmental History/REPORT(H)A – Rede Portuguesa de História Ambiental (http://reportha.org/pt/) is presented at this Conference. It is the perfect opportunity to allow the connection of different scholars and Research Centers, taking the first steps on the path leading to future research and the answer to aims and projects.
Finally we consider that this conference is the first one organized in the context of the Portuguese Network of Environmental History – REPORT(H)A and we hope that we can decide at this conference how to provide a dynamic that will support future meetings and all kind of initiatives. In fact this 4th CITCEM Conference is the 1st Conference of REPORT(H)A subordinated to the theme Crossing Borders: Connecting Edges of Environmental History, which aims to bring together experts of environmental history, whose contributions will enable the exchange of new perspectives, discussing concepts, methodologies and processes in the field of Environmental History.
The meeting program includes plenary and parallel sessions which cover a wide range of issues that are interconnected and cross the boundaries of Environmental History. Therefore, the congress brings together national and international scientific community through individual submission of papers and panels. Answered 149 researchers, and although Portugal is the country that has the largest number of proposals, which seems natural, due to the creative efforts of the Portuguese Environmental History Network, the Conference includes researchers from Spain, Brazil, France, Italy, Colombia , Germany, etc ..
The diversity of scientific areas is significant (in alphabetical order: Agronomy, Anthropology, Archaeology, Architecture, Biology, Social Sciences, Economics, Engineering, Philosophy, Geography, Geology, History, History of Art, Literature, Sociology). Several research centres are represented with a interdisciplinary profile, either Portuguese centres (Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos/Universidade do Porto:CIBIO-UP; IICT - Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical, Centro Interuniversitário de História das Ciências e Tecnologia, Instituto de História Contemporânea, etc.) or international centres (Rachel Carson Centre, Institute for Ecosystem Research Kiel, Centre de Recherche et de Documentation sur les Amériques de l'Institut des Hautes Études sur l'Amérique Latine, CRHIA – Université de Nantes, etc.).
The structure of this meeting was oriented to the debate of interdisciplinary in Environmental History which justified the invitation of three emblematic figures from different areas of interdisciplinary intersection, as notable experts on methodological issues and innovative research in environmental history
• Mauro Agnoletti (Universidade de Florença), http://landscapeunifi.it/en/, responsible for the 1st European Conference for the Implementation of the UNESCO-SCBD Joint Programme on Biological and Cultural Diversity, Linking Biological and Cultural Diversity in Europe
• Rudolf Brázdil (Universidade Masaryk) http://eseh.org/event/events-archive/sixth-eseh-conference/keynote-speakers/, Historical climatology specialist, consultant of several projects within and outside the Czech Republic and attached to the project MILLENNIUM (2006-2010)
• José Augusto Pádua (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro), http://www.ppghis.historia.ufrj.br/corpo-docente/corpo-permanente/jose-augusto-padua/, recognized as one of the greatest researchers from the Environmental History of Brazil and Latin America. (SEE PROGRAM)
Finally we are much thankful to all members of Scientific and Organiser Committee, in particular to the youngest generation, Sara Pinto, Luís Silva, Fabíola Pires and Ismael Vieira, who apart from their role as organizers are also engaged researchers of CITCEM.