Environment and History. Towards an Understanding of Man´s relation to Nature.

Hertha Firnberg Position T 45 Environment and History. Past Human - environment-relations Verena WINIWARTER 29.06.1999 Environmental History and Human Ecology share their subject, but not the conceptual framework to deal with it. Both investigate human - environment relations in the past. Both show a lot of internal fluidity and diversity. Environmental history considers humans in their social context, relating it to "nature" which is predominantly conceptualized by means of systems ecology. Human ecology considers humans as a biological species within the natural systems, albeit with an emphasis on the differences due to culturation. This research aims at conceptual clarification of the two disciplines, showing both their points of convergence and their differences. Material on the textbook level will be used in this, the first of three stages of the research. By comparing course syllabi a limited amount of relevant works in environmental history will be determined, as the field lacks any comprehensive textbooks. For Human ecology, however, by means of a citation analysis the most relevant of the existing textbooks will be selected. In a second phase the conceptual framework will be applied to case studies in both disciplines, as it is assumed that theoretical concepts in textbooks and both explicit and implicit orientation in case studies differs substantially. In the third, and longest, stage the knowledge gained in the first two stages will be applied to existing empirical data, using Austrian research previously done by the applicant, which can be expanded and re-interpreted in the light of the interdisciplinary basis of environmental history and human ecology which will have emerged from the first two stages. The framework for analysis consists of three main parts: Works will (a) be analyzed according to the paradigm of environmental damage prevailing in them. (b) The narrative construction of history as progress, decline, cycle, or a series of unrelated events will be investigated. (c) Terminology and its conceptual consequences will be looked at. Key terms of difference such as population, society, evolution, landscape, change and continuity, are proposed for the work. The refinement and further development of the analytical framework is part of the analysis. Communication between disciplines is difficult. The project is successful, if we manage to communicate our results to both communities and start a discussion which has - despite many and fruitful co-operations - not started so far. The texts generated in the project will be published in international media, and will build the basis for an interdisciplinary environmental history of Austria.

Environmental History, to-date is poorly institutionalized in Austria. The Hertha-Firnberg-Project saw the successful completion of the applicant`s "Habilitation"-Process (venia docendi) in "Human Ecology" at the Faculty for Natural Sciences and Mathematics at the University of Vienna. Thus to establish Environmental History as an interdisciplinary subject has received international attention and has boosted attempts to institutionalize the subject matter. From Fall Semester 2003/04 onwards, a six-semester course on environmental history, which has been planned and organized by the applicant will take place. The teaching staff for this "Wahlfachbündel" comes from several Universities and represents a multitude of disciplines. Therefore, the future development of Environmental History in its specific, interdisciplinary form will continue. During the project many presentations (among them several at Universities in the U.S.A.) were given. The interdisciplinary approach received great attention and is seen as a major contribution to the development of Environmental History internationally. The applicant was elected President of the European Society for Environmental History (see: www.eseh.org). Such an election does not only acknowledge personal abilities, but also the scholarly work by the person and thus should also be seen as proof of the international interest in the project. Main results of the project The heuristic models developed within the project allow to analyze the development of pre-industrial agriculture as coupled system of population, production and agro-ecosystem. This is a prerequisite for temporal and spatial comparisons of the interactions between humans and their environment on the level of farmstead and village. Management of farm nutrient flows, such as is typical for 18th century European farming is a prerequisite for future sustainable development. Several presentations and articles written during the project show the use and strength of historical analysis for sustainable development issues. The essay collection "Historische Humanökologie" (Historical Studies in Human Ecology) complied and edited as part of the project, shows the multitude of possible approaches to the history of human- environment-relations. The book can serve as an interdisciplinary introduction to the subject. In particular, essays in the book explore specific (between Biology and History) and general premises of interdisciplinary communication. The "Habilitation" thesis "Historical Studies in Human Ecology" consists of ten peer-reviewed publications, of which all but one have since appeared in print. An extensive introduction covers the theoretical ground of the compiled empirical studies. This introduction is a milestone for the conceptual foundation of environmental history and will be used to guide new research and as part of an introductory book currently in preparation.