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- Convenors:
-
Ieva Garda-Rozenberga
(Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art, University of Latvia)
Ilze Boldāne-Zeļenkova (Institute of Latvian History, University of Latvia)
Maarja Kaaristo (Manchester Metropolitan University)
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- Format:
- Panel
Short Abstract:
After World War II, Europe witnessed environmental changes caused by military activities, economic intensification, industrialisation, and state-driven initiatives. The panel will explore the relationships between authority, society, and the environment under socialist and capitalist systems.
Long Abstract:
The post-World War II period brought profound changes to Europe's environment. The Eastern Bloc's military, economic, and industrial policies led to the extensive reorganisation of rural and urban landscapes. From collectivising agricultural lands and draining wetlands to modernising road systems and building high-rise urban residential areas, the USSR’s environmental interventions reshaped the lives of its citizens and also contributed to the emergence of eco-nationalist ideas. Simultaneously, Western Europe faced its own landscape transformations driven by industrialisation, modernisation, and reconstruction efforts after the war, altering both natural and built environments. This session aims to expand the narrative of European environmental history by integrating experiences of both Eastern and Western Europe, exploring how authority and societal forces shaped landscapes on both sides of the Iron Curtain. We welcome papers analysing different kinds of data (qualitative or quantitative) and personal narratives to understand better environmental changes, human interactions with these shifts, and the political forces that shaped them. The panel aims to bring together researchers from different fields of humanities, social sciences, and environmental studies to reflect on key issues such as the dynamics between power, society, and the environment under socialist and capitalist systems; the legacy of post-war landscape changes across Europe; environmental activism; emerging ideas of eco-nationalism; the intersection of environment and public health; and the methodological challenges in studying the environmental legacies of post-war Europe. This broader geographical scope seeks to foster new insights into the environmental transformations that shaped the continent in the second half of the 20th century.