CfP Unifying phenomena in a divided world: History of climate and meteorology in Europe (ESHS London 14-17 September 2018)


We welcome papers for a proposed symposium at next year’s European Society for the History of Science Conference (London, 14-17 September 2018), on the following topic: 


Unifying phenomena in a divided world: History of climate and meteorology in Europe (16th-19th Century)

Among the most pressing scientific, political, and financial questions that the world is facing today is the implementation of international agreements and common measures to be taken against and reduce the effects of climate change, as the recent Paris agreement testifies. Our view of climate has changed throughout the centuries, but it constituted a central question for scientists and natural philosophers already in Early Modern Europe. The purpose of this symposium is to explore the notion of climate in various European countries between the 16th and the 19th century, by taking into account the place that the study of climate had within meteorology, the technologies employed for its implementation, and its institutional and economic implications in various contexts.

Papers should be 15-20 minutes in length. Please send a provisional title and abstract (ca. 150 words) to Silvia De Bianchi (Silvia.DeBianchi@uab.cat) by 4 December 2017.


Organizers: Silvia De Bianchi (Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona); Sara Miglietti (Johns Hopkins University)