Non-Western Approaches in Environmental Humanities

The main aim of the conference (which is correlated with the topics of the project “Non-anthropo- centric Cultural Subjectivity” realized as part of the “Excellence Initiative – Research University” pro- gramme at the University of Warsaw) is to reflect on theoretical frameworks in environmental hu- manities which have emerged as alternative or complementary to western approaches. We would like to support theoretical reflections concerning the relationship between human beings and the environ- ment that have been developed in non-western cultural contexts. By helping to determine the prob- lems crucial for “non-western” environmental humanities, the conference will also be a starting point for further cooperation and research.

We understand the adjective “non-western” in two ways. In one general sense, the term simply implies alternatives to the mainstream theoretical frameworks deriving especially from North America and Western Europe. “Non-western” in this sense includes the trends and theoretical conceptions devel- oped by researchers representing different geographical and historical locations as well as different cultural traditions, for example the Global South, indigenous and non-white cultures. A narrower un- derstanding of “non-western” suggests research perspectives applied on local scales. Therefore, one of the conference’s main aims is to concentrate on the Eastern European context. This focus entails the presentation of research concerning the environmental history of Eastern Europe as well as at- tempting to work out research frameworks reflecting the local, Eastern European perspectives on the relationship between human beings and their environments.

The conference draws on already existing debates in the field of environmental and postcolonial stud- ies, but will also open up new debates on relations between humans and the non-human environment which challenge the dominant Western perspective. We are open to stimulating case studies from Eastern Europe and the Global South. However, presentations focusing primarily on developing novel theoretical frameworks are especially welcome.