Call for papers
Changing Cryospheres I and II
Vienna Anthropology Days 2020
28 September – 1 October 2020
Submission deadline: 1 June 2020
For more information about paper submission and to submit a paper, go to:
https://vanda.univie.ac.at/call-for-papers/
For more information about the conference, go to:
https://vanda.univie.ac.at/home/
Organizers announce a call for paper submissions for two cryosphere sessions during Vienna Anthropology Days 2020. This conference will convene 28 September – 1 October 2020 in Vienna, Austria.
The Vienna Anthropology Days 2020 (VANDA) is an international conference that aims to bring together scholars from various fields of anthropology, social sciences, and humanities. VANDA includes an interactive Young Scholars’ Forum, where graduate students can network and receive mentoring and practical advice from experienced researchers. Apart from the classic conference formats, session organizers are free to introduce their own creative formats.
Conveners of the following sessions invite papers:
Changing Cryospheres I: Global Warming in Polar and Alpine Settings
Organizers: Alexandra Meyer (University of Vienna), Olga Povoroznyuk (University of Vienna)
Session Description:
One of the most striking symptoms of climate change today is the disappearance of the world's frozen landscapes. Glaciers, permafrost, and polar ice caps are part of the fragile socio-ecological systems of the polar and alpine regions whose populations are directly affected by the great melt-down. These environmental changes have distinctive impacts, generate various forms of adaptations, and are perceived very differently, depending on diverse social, economic, and cultural contexts. We analytically diverge the notions of climate change as a physical phenomenon, on the one hand, and a cultural and political idea, and a discursive practice, on the other hand. What material impacts do climate and cryosphere changes have on infrastructures, mobility, economic activities, urban development, and planning? What do people who live and work in polar and high-altitude settings observe, and how do they make sense of these observations? How do affected local communities perceive related risks and adapt to them? What role, if any, do local and Indigenous observations and knowledge play in research on climate change? Organizers welcome contributions from anthropology and related disciplines, and case studies in rural and urbanized settings from Indigenous, mixed, and migrant communities in subarctic, Arctic, Antarctic, alpine, and other high-altitude regions.
Changing Cryospheres II: How to Communicate the Challenges of Climate Change?
Organizers: Peter Schweitzer (University of Vienna), Susanna Gartler (University of Vienna)
Session Description:
Decreasing (and, in rare cases, increasing) ice and snow cover, permafrost thaw, as well as other climate change impacts have profound consequences for the global environment and local livelihoods. While they have been generating global concern on a large scale, “climate skepticism” occurs even in the most seemingly unlikely places, such as the Arctic, where climate change impacts are highly visible and affect daily life. Research has demonstrated that the communication of science-based knowledge has limited influence on how people perceive environmental risks and choose to deal with them: Perceptions and adaptations are rather influenced by social, cultural, and psychological factors. This situation begs the question of how climate science is communicated and how different responses – from political protests, to concern, to indifference or skepticism – are created and emerge. Oragnizers are interested in the role of popular education and communication between academia, local communities, and other actors, as well as in the dissemination and impact of scientific research on climate change.
- How to best popularize results of climate change research and is this even the role of science?
- In which settings does knowledge about climate change generate concern?
- When and where does concern lead to actual action and change on (supra-)national and local levels?
Those working on one of these (or closely related) topics are invited to submit an abstract to join an expert panel. The discussion of the expert panel will be followed by a group discussion with the audience in a world café format.
Submission deadline: 1 June 2020
For more information about paper submission and to submit a paper, go to:
https://vanda.univie.ac.at/call-for-papers/
For more information about the conference, go to:
https://vanda.univie.ac.at/home/