Robert Balogh
University of Debrecen, Faculty of Arts, Department Member
- Institute of History of Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Contemporary History, Department Memberadd
- History Of Emotions, Landscape Ecology, Work and Labour, Anthropology of Tibet and the Himalayas, Cross-Cultural Psychology, Central and Eastern Europe, and 25 moreHistory and Memory, South Asian History, Anthropology of Food, Hybrid Geographies, Early Modern History, History of India, Empire, British Imperial and Colonial History (1600 - ), Colonialism, History of Colonial India, Modern Indian History, Labour history, South Asia, Contemporary History, Asian Studies, Indigenous or Aboriginal Studies, Memory Studies, Labor History and Studies, Indian studies, History of Hungary, Subaltern Studies, Postcolonial Studies, Post-Colonialism, Carbon Credits, and Moral Economyedit
- Horváth Sándor, Szilágyi Zsoltedit
Az Országos Erdészeti Egyesület a 19. század közepén jött létre. Az 1860-as évek elején legfontosabb programpontjává a magyar erdészeti szaknyelv megteremtése vált. Ekkortól története állam és civil társadalom magyarországi kapcsolata... more
Az Országos Erdészeti Egyesület a 19. század közepén jött létre. Az 1860-as évek elején legfontosabb programpontjává a magyar erdészeti szaknyelv megteremtése vált. Ekkortól története állam és civil társadalom magyarországi kapcsolata történetének tükre. Az OEE gyors sikereket ért el intézményépítés terén, és az 1880-as évekre az agrárpolitika megkerülhetetlen tényezőjévé vált. A tanulmány azokat az egyesületi szerepeket tárgyalja, amelyek a perifériák fölötti állami kontrollal, valamint a tudományos tudás és a nemzetépítő törekvések kapcsolatával függnek össze.
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A tanulmány célja, hogy összekapcsolja az kultúra és természet viszonyában bekövetkező korszakváltásról szóló interdiszciplináris vitát (antropocén, lásd Emett-Lekan 2016) és a nacionalizmus konstruktivista politikai-történeti... more
A tanulmány célja, hogy összekapcsolja az kultúra és természet viszonyában bekövetkező korszakváltásról szóló interdiszciplináris vitát (antropocén, lásd Emett-Lekan 2016) és a nacionalizmus konstruktivista politikai-történeti szociológiáját (Gellner 1983, Anderson 1983). Ezt az erdészet 19. század végi és 20. század eleji magyarországi működése lokális hatásainak vizsgálatába ágyazva éri el. A tanulmány első része bemutatja, hogy az erdészet nemzetépítésben és az állami bürokrácia terjeszkedésében játszott szerepe új tájformáló technológiák alkalmazásában mutatkozott meg, s ezek közül a legfontosabbak az üzemtervek és az erdei vasutak voltak. Mindkét eszköz hozzájárult ahhoz, hogy a tájkép „árucikk” jelleget öltsön, illetve árucikk jellege módosuljon (kommodifikáció). Az üzemterv a szabályos állapotok kijelölésével és geometria alkalmazásával a területek értékének számszerűsítésére ösztönzött, míg a vasút egyre sűrűbb hálózatokat teremtve tette lehetővé a fás területekkel való rendszeres gazdálkodást. A második alfejezet a nemzetgazdaság átfogó statisztikai és térbeli leírására és ábrázolására törekvő minisztériumi irányítás és a lokális érdekek közötti ellentétre fókuszálva mutatja be a helyi erdőgazdálkodást övező vitákat. A harmadik alfejezet a debreceni erdők állami kezelésbe vételét és az új üzemtervek szemléleletváltását mutatja be az első világháborús és háború utáni válság kontextusában. A konklúzió reflektál Thomas Lekan német tájkép és nacionalizmus kapcsolatát elemző monográfiájára, Günnel Cederlöf jog és tájkép brit birodalmon belüli viszonyát taglaló munkáira, valamint Eszik Veronika földrajz és nemzetiesítés magyarországi kapcsolatára vonatkozó kutatására, s rámutat, hogy az antropocén tézis kutatása szempontjából a kommodifikáció fogalom használatában még komoly lehetőségek vannak.
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A fejezetben azt vizsgálom, hogy az avassági települések közelében fekvő erdőterületekhez való hozzáféréssel kapcsolatos konfliktusok, érdekellentétek és a terület erdőigazgatási szervezetére vonatkozó írott forrássok fényében vizsgálja,... more
A fejezetben azt vizsgálom, hogy az avassági települések közelében fekvő erdőterületekhez való hozzáféréssel kapcsolatos konfliktusok, érdekellentétek és a terület erdőigazgatási szervezetére vonatkozó írott forrássok fényében vizsgálja, hogy az Avasság mint etnikai határvidék miként illeszkedett a centrum-periféria viszonyok közé 1900-1920 között. Ezen belül a 19. század végén a terülten megtalálható tulajdoni formák és tulajdonos csoportok szerepét, a vidéki erdészeti igazgatás jellemzőit és a tőke megjelenési formáit vizsgálom.
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This paper argues that the afforestation campaign of the 1950s was at the juncture of Sovietization, science and changing local work regimes in Hungary. Therefore, the paper is organized into two sections with two subchapters in each... more
This paper argues that the afforestation campaign of the 1950s was at the juncture of Sovietization, science and changing local work regimes in Hungary. Therefore, the paper is organized into two sections with two subchapters in each section. The first section analyses the relationship between propaganda and governmentality in the state socialist period of the region in the light of afforestation. In the second section I turn to the local level. I look at the roles that women played in the landscape of afforestation and investigate how afforestation influenced the life of farmers and cooperatives as well as that of regional forestry just before the decisive wave of collectivization.
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In post-WWII Hungary afforestation activities formed a juncture: they were about continuity with pre-war agenda as well as a way to react to the political demands of Sovietization efforts, and subsequently, about gaining reputation and... more
In post-WWII Hungary afforestation activities formed a juncture: they were about continuity with pre-war agenda as well as a way to react to the political demands of Sovietization efforts, and subsequently, about gaining reputation and opportunities for crossing the border. One of its central institutions was the Forestry Research Institute (ERTI). I contextualize the major botanical garden managed by ERTI, located in Western Hungary, as a site that involved such border crossings including exchange with countries of the ’West’ and participation in setting global agendas of UN FAO and IUFRO during Cold War. I do so by reconstructing the way its chief scientist, István Bánó saw and altered that particular space in the light of his papers as well as through interpreting his academic and popular science writings. On the bases of archived material of ERTI located at the National Archives of Hungary I assess how international participation interacted with the rhythm of Cold War and internal patterns of the Hungarian state Socialist regime.
Keywords: History of Forestry, High Modernity, Entangled history, Landscape, Individual career
Keywords: History of Forestry, High Modernity, Entangled history, Landscape, Individual career
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The paper argues that exploring the content and sites of transnational entanglements is a more adequate way to study the relationship between the Cold War and the Great Acceleration phase of Anthropocene than looking at the so-called East... more
The paper argues that exploring the content and sites of transnational entanglements
is a more adequate way to study the relationship between the Cold War and the Great
Acceleration phase of Anthropocene than looking at the so-called East vs. West in
isolation. By focusing on how scientific ideas, economic concepts, industrial projects,
and data production emerged and intertwined in the case of activities related to poplar
trees in Hungary, it becomes clear that anthropogenic landscape change during the state socialist period was embedded into the global circulation of ideas about forests, materials and ecology. The paper also points out that forestry is a relevant area of knowledge for studying the reasons behind anthropogenic change leading to the Anthropocene because of continuities it provides across World Wars and regions, and because the profession engages with biological knowledge production, business interests, political demands regarding long-term economic growth, and notions of ecological crisis in its everyday practice.
Keywords: Anthropocene, science studies, history of forestry, state socialism, paper
production
is a more adequate way to study the relationship between the Cold War and the Great
Acceleration phase of Anthropocene than looking at the so-called East vs. West in
isolation. By focusing on how scientific ideas, economic concepts, industrial projects,
and data production emerged and intertwined in the case of activities related to poplar
trees in Hungary, it becomes clear that anthropogenic landscape change during the state socialist period was embedded into the global circulation of ideas about forests, materials and ecology. The paper also points out that forestry is a relevant area of knowledge for studying the reasons behind anthropogenic change leading to the Anthropocene because of continuities it provides across World Wars and regions, and because the profession engages with biological knowledge production, business interests, political demands regarding long-term economic growth, and notions of ecological crisis in its everyday practice.
Keywords: Anthropocene, science studies, history of forestry, state socialism, paper
production
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The paper problematizes the emergence of the state centred vision of national economy in the context of forestry. In doing so it adopts the post-colonial critics of economy, statistics and data.
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Az Országos Erdészeti Egyesület története ma már 150 évet ölel át, így az egyesület múltja Magyarország modernkori történelmének tükre. Az OEE történetének kutatása során arra törekedtem, hogy összegezzem, hogy a kb. 1860 és kb. 1970... more
Az Országos Erdészeti Egyesület története ma már 150 évet ölel át, így az egyesület múltja Magyarország modernkori történelmének tükre. Az OEE történetének kutatása során arra törekedtem, hogy összegezzem, hogy a kb. 1860 és kb. 1970 közötti időszak, a modernitás korának, meghatározó folyamatai, a nemzetépítés, az államépítés, milyen kölcsönhatásban álltak az ökológiai viszonyokról való gondolkodással, s ezen belül az erdészeti tudás formálódásával.
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The forthcoming analysis of the roles and aspects of milk production and milk supply sheds light on urban-rural and state-society relations that have remained understated in historiography of 20th century Hungary. By applying the concept... more
The forthcoming analysis of the roles and aspects of milk production and milk supply sheds light on urban-rural and state-society relations that have remained understated in historiography of 20th century Hungary. By applying the concept of governmentality it will show that state expansion and state led centralization in the field of food economy started much before World War II. Using the same conceptual framework, it will also highlight that cooperatives played an increasingly important role in governance during the 1930s. Moreover, it will also become clear that knowledge production, related to animals and organic materials, were intertwined with both of the above mentioned processes. It will emerge that food history is one of the ways to take research beyond methodological nationalism without having to ignore the realm of politics. Milk is a food item of special interest for such a research. In the late 19th century it became an object of scientific research, industrial processing and administration globally, as few other items foods did at the time. Yet, as we shall see, milk is not an exception without relevance for the larger picture.
The paper consists of four sections. The first section reconstructs ideas of milk that were present in interwar Hungary. This includes the relationship between urban conditions and milk consumption, the interaction between animal health and human health, as well as the economic importance of milk production. The second section deals with how state level regulation of milk production through legislation and state authorized quality testing in laboratories impacted urban-rural relations. The third section highlights the role that the idea of controlled market and corporatist notions played in the way the milk economy was restructured in the 1930s and how cooperatives entered this scenario. The fourth section explores how the centralized milk cooperative system related to centralized redistribution introduced as a measure to tackle wartime shortage.
The paper consists of four sections. The first section reconstructs ideas of milk that were present in interwar Hungary. This includes the relationship between urban conditions and milk consumption, the interaction between animal health and human health, as well as the economic importance of milk production. The second section deals with how state level regulation of milk production through legislation and state authorized quality testing in laboratories impacted urban-rural relations. The third section highlights the role that the idea of controlled market and corporatist notions played in the way the milk economy was restructured in the 1930s and how cooperatives entered this scenario. The fourth section explores how the centralized milk cooperative system related to centralized redistribution introduced as a measure to tackle wartime shortage.
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Jelen tanulmányban azt mutatom be, hogy az élelmiszerellátás 1945-ös állapota szempontjából a beszolgáltatási rendszer közösségre gyakorolt hatása, a kormányzás technológiája, a vidék-város kapcsolat, valamint az ember-állat viszony... more
Jelen tanulmányban azt mutatom be, hogy az élelmiszerellátás 1945-ös állapota szempontjából a beszolgáltatási rendszer közösségre gyakorolt hatása, a kormányzás technológiája, a vidék-város kapcsolat, valamint az ember-állat viszony voltak a legfontosabb tényezők. Ebből a kérdésfelvetésből következik, hogy a front átvonulása és 1946 nyara, vagyis a forint bevezetésének időpontja, közötti élelmiszerhiány kapcsán számos szereplő döntéseit kell figyelembe vennünk. Az egyes szereplőknek igen eltérő elképzelései voltak az igazságos és kívánatos élelmiszer elosztás mibenlétéről.
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Élelem, éhezés és munka összetartozó fogalmak. Korszakunkban mind a modernitás tudományossága, mind a gyarmati kormányzás technológiái hozzájárultak ezen kapcsolatrendszer erősítéséhez. Jelen tanulmány a munka és élelmezés kapcsolatáról... more
Élelem, éhezés és munka összetartozó fogalmak. Korszakunkban mind a modernitás tudományossága, mind a gyarmati kormányzás technológiái hozzájárultak ezen kapcsolatrendszer erősítéséhez. Jelen tanulmány a munka és élelmezés kapcsolatáról alkotott elképzeléseket elemzi, s ezen keresztül kutatja a késő gyarmati indiai elit jóléti és gazdasági intézményekkel kapcsolatos gondolkodását, valamint ennek lokális lenyomatait az 1920 és 1950 közötti időszakra vonatkozóan.
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Pál, Viktor: Technology and the Environment in State Socialist Hungary. An Economic History. Palgrave Macmillen, 2017.
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A kötet a traumatikus, megélt és öröklött emlékek által keltett szorongástól az etikus és teljes jogú társadalmi jelenlétig vezető utat mutatja be. Ezen egyéni és társadalmi szinten egyaránt működő emancipációs cél és az ehhez vezető,... more
A kötet a traumatikus, megélt és öröklött emlékek által keltett szorongástól az etikus és teljes jogú társadalmi jelenlétig vezető utat mutatja be. Ezen egyéni és társadalmi szinten egyaránt működő emancipációs cél és az ehhez vezető, pontosan kijelölt út miatt Viet Thanh Nguyen munkája áttöréssel kecsegtet az emlékezet kutatásának terén.
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A Commercial Visions célja, hogy a pénzügyi profitszerzés történetét összekapcsolja a tudománytörténettel. A létrehozott narratíván belül mind az emberi testről mind a nem emberi világról létrejött tudás nagy súllyal szerepel.
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The commodification of the landscape and some species of early 20th century of present day Jharkhand within colonial framework involved a number of emotional attitudes such as discovery, resistance, coercion, alienation, and solidarity.... more
The commodification of the landscape and some species of early 20th century of present day Jharkhand within colonial framework involved a number of emotional attitudes such as discovery, resistance, coercion, alienation, and solidarity. These different attitudes emerge from folk literature, contemporary ethnographic data, company archives, archives produced by colonial administration, scientific descriptions and non-fiction.
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This chapter talks of the roles that control and protest played in the mode of government that TISCO practiced over Jamshedpur. The first section argues that one of the main goals of company management was to prove to the Government of... more
This chapter talks of the roles that control and protest played in the mode of government that TISCO practiced over Jamshedpur. The first section argues that one of the main goals of company management was to prove to the Government of India that it had sufficient control over crowding. The key element of these arguments was the specific nature of coolie labour. At the same time, sports, arts and consumption were areas where workers established counter-narratives despite the desire of both management and government to control these areas. The strike attempt at the Tata mines of Gorumashini in June 1939 shows that industrial conflict could be independent of mainstream politics even at that date. The event also reflects the differences between various levels of management regarding attitudes and concerns, as well as the complexity of the company’s position in Singhbhum.
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This chapter will first look at the way war transformed the landscape and cityscape of Jamshedpur. This region, the inner frontier of resource appropriation over the course of the 19th century, turned into a military frontier during the... more
This chapter will first look at the way war transformed the landscape and cityscape of Jamshedpur. This region, the inner frontier of resource appropriation over the course of the 19th century, turned into a military frontier during the Second World War. Wartime inflation and food shortages forced the state to recast its relationship with its subjects. The war also had a significant impact on company management policies, illustrated in this chapter by the issues of technical training and the rehabilitation of disabled workers.
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A következőkben életük egy jelentős szakaszát Debrecenben töltő női szabók életrajzi töredékeit felhasználva három problémát emelek ki: egyrészt a női munka két világháború közötti jelentésváltozatai és a rezsim irredenta diskurzusa... more
A következőkben életük egy jelentős szakaszát Debrecenben töltő női szabók életrajzi töredékeit felhasználva három problémát emelek ki: egyrészt a női munka két világháború közötti jelentésváltozatai és a rezsim irredenta diskurzusa közötti kapcsolatot, másrészt a női másság megélésének módjait, harmadrészt, megkísérlek túllépni a kritikai beállítottságon és az emberi élet, a világhoz való kötődés hatalmon túli, affektív, dimenzióit kiemelni.
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Abstract: The paper argues that shortage of food and energy as an experience concerned a whole generation during the 1940s and 1950s across the region and that it triggered emotional responses and routines. The paper starts with a close... more
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The paper argues that shortage of food and energy as an experience concerned a whole generation during the 1940s and 1950s across the region and that it triggered emotional responses and routines. The paper starts with a close reading of the recently published receipt-book prepared by women in forced labour camp in 1944 (Czingel 2014) and of diaries written in 1944-45 that contain references to shortage. Through these texts I show types of moral economy functioning in the time of crises of those years.
Second, I analyze the discourse of shortage in letters exchanged among professional foresters working in Northern-Transylvania and Hungary between 1939 and 1944.
In the third section I juxtapose these with moral economy of cookbooks published in Hungary and in Transylvania during the war years and in the 1950s, narratives published in specialist periodicals as well as with reports related to food supply prepared by UNRRA and FAO administration between 1946 and 1960 about Hungary and Romania.
As an outcome we will see common and specific elements of the moral and emotional economy of shortage across time and space.
The paper argues that shortage of food and energy as an experience concerned a whole generation during the 1940s and 1950s across the region and that it triggered emotional responses and routines. The paper starts with a close reading of the recently published receipt-book prepared by women in forced labour camp in 1944 (Czingel 2014) and of diaries written in 1944-45 that contain references to shortage. Through these texts I show types of moral economy functioning in the time of crises of those years.
Second, I analyze the discourse of shortage in letters exchanged among professional foresters working in Northern-Transylvania and Hungary between 1939 and 1944.
In the third section I juxtapose these with moral economy of cookbooks published in Hungary and in Transylvania during the war years and in the 1950s, narratives published in specialist periodicals as well as with reports related to food supply prepared by UNRRA and FAO administration between 1946 and 1960 about Hungary and Romania.
As an outcome we will see common and specific elements of the moral and emotional economy of shortage across time and space.
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For Hungarian forestry, the mid-1950s brought about a 'Golden Age' in terms of institutional independence, increase of area covered by forest and technological progress. At the same time, the aftermath of the revolution of October 1956... more
For Hungarian forestry, the mid-1950s brought about a 'Golden Age' in terms of institutional independence, increase of area covered by forest and technological progress. At the same time, the aftermath of the revolution of October 1956 triggered fear, violence and large scale emigration among the ranks of foresters. This paper addresses this paradox by analysing publications published in the post-1990 era that wished to contribute to establishing the memory of the profession. The largest share of these publications are life interviews published in 9 volumes between 2001 and 2015. The second largest body are memoirs and contemporary documents published about how and why students of the Forestry College emigrated and left for British Columbia after the revolution.
I argue that 1956 has not become a memory place for foresters. Instead of being a juncture, there is silence regarding both revolutionary activity and the retaliation between 1957 and 1963. The emigration of students and professors stands out at a notable episode in the 20th century history of the profession that is told as an uncomplicated story.
I argue that 1956 has not become a memory place for foresters. Instead of being a juncture, there is silence regarding both revolutionary activity and the retaliation between 1957 and 1963. The emigration of students and professors stands out at a notable episode in the 20th century history of the profession that is told as an uncomplicated story.
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Explaining the Turkish invasion and success by moral failures and heresy was commonplace since the time of Luther among Protestants and Catholics alike. The most elaborate presentation of this thesis was probably produced by Istvan... more
Explaining the Turkish invasion and success by moral failures and heresy was commonplace since the time of Luther among Protestants and Catholics alike. The most elaborate presentation of this thesis was probably produced by Istvan Magyari in the closing years of the 16th century. He was a Lutheran preaching in the service of Ferenc Nadasdy, one of the most active, committed and powerful aristocrats and most successful military leader of his time. Magyari devoted several pages to arguing that despite of the common practice, adultery should not be forgiven by paying a fine, nor should it be overlooked with a smile. Although, Balthazar Bartha, the first chronist of Debrecen writing in 1666 did not refer specifically to sex crimes, he also presented a moralist argument in his introduction to the description of the misery of 17th century Debrecen. If contemporaries saw such a direct relationship between morally just behaviour and political success, it would be reasonable to assume that in a religious centre such as Debrecen was in the second half of the 16th century, this view had a bearing on the actions of the organs entrusted with political leadership. The protocols of the city of Debrecen contain entries numerous enough to study the logic behind the ritual of punishment in the second half of 16th century.
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Panchatantra has been primarily discussed for the richness of the history of its reception. Johannes Hertel and Franklin Edgerton shaped scholarly interest regarding the Panchatantra in the first decades of the 20th century. They were... more
Panchatantra has been primarily discussed for the richness of the history of its reception. Johannes Hertel and Franklin Edgerton shaped scholarly interest regarding the Panchatantra in the first decades of the 20th century. They were chiefly interested in finding the original version and establishing a chronology and a hierarchy in terms of originality among the dozens of Panchatantras. This paper argues that by contextualizing the moments that represent border situation between the realm of animals and human or between domestic and wild animals and animals belonging to different habitats we may assess the agendas of the text more effectively than it has been done. This is so because such an approach directly addresses the question of perception: the scope and limit of the author´s imagination.
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Deadline for the submission of abstracts: 15 February 2016 Place and time of conference Poznań, Poland, 21-22 April 2016 Keywords: environmental history, ecology, communist regimes, environmental disasters, green movements, famine... more
Deadline for the submission of abstracts:
15 February 2016
Place and time of conference
Poznań, Poland, 21-22 April 2016
Keywords: environmental history, ecology, communist regimes, environmental disasters, green movements, famine
Fields: history, sociology, environmental studies, anthropology, cultural studies
Many social and economic practices had led to various forms of ecological disequilibria in the Pre-Modern, Modern, and Post-Modern eras. Ecological issues are among the most important and yet unacknowledged aspects of the history of communist rule over much of Central and Eastern Europe after 1945. Marxist ideology contained an idea for human domination over nature which, in turn, had an important role to play in legitimizing the communist system. The centralized command–and–quota economy resulted in ecological disequilibria, irrational management of natural resources and environmental contamination. Yet throughout the former Eastern Bloc, neither the planned economy nor policies explicitly concerning the environment were static after 1945.
The post–war famine and the so–called Great Plan for the Transformation of Nature were major stages of the late Stalinist period in terms of ecological impact. In the 1950s and 1960s, alongside the ideology of the communist regimes, scientific and technological revolutions and import substitution in the economy triggered intensified resource extraction and thus environmental damage throughout the region. Both mining and re–cultivation had to do with landscapes and wounded landscapes. Many regional studies highlight the impact of collectivization and the adverse results of experts’ ideas on improving agricultural productivity.
The era following the so–called high–modernity of the post–war decade yet again brought new economic ideas and practices to the former Eastern Bloc (as well as other parts of the globe). The ecological impact of export–oriented Eastern Block economies differed from the effects of trade and production practices in earlier decades, not least because of the use of nuclear energy. Under the communist dictatorships, the ecological results of economic policies were not presented to public opinion or subjected to democratic control. This state of affairs resulted in the catastrophe at Chernobyl on April 26, 1986. After this, the ecological results of the functioning of communist systems openly took on a political dimension. They were subject to the policies of the communist states, and they were part of the political ideas and activities of opposition and dissident groups in the communist societies.
Given the state of the scholarship on environmental history in the region, the aim of the conference is to investigate and analyze the following issues:
Chernobyl and other ecological disasters in the history of communism;
the ecological impacts of collectivization and agricultural technology in the former Eastern Bloc;
the ecological results of different periods of communist economy and polity;
the influence of the Chernobyl disaster on the development of the opposition in communist states and the legitimization of the communist system;
the importance of ecological and environmental protection as an issue in culture and counterculture;
Chernobyl in the international press and public opinion and the popular memory of disasters as represented in movies, video games etc.;
environmental protection in governmental policies and as part of the endeavors of the various forms of opposition in communist states;
ecological and environmental protection in Cold War propaganda and ideology.
Abstracts should be sent to: krzysztof.brzechczyn@ipn.gov.pl; brzech@amu.edu.pl and a copy to rbalogh215@gmail.com
Organizers:
Hungarian Academy of Sciences (HAS), Research Centre for the Humanities, Institute of History
Institute of National Remembrance, Branch Office in Poznań
Institute of Philosophy at Adam Mickiewicz University
Polish Philosophical Associations, Poznań Division
Scientific Board: Péter Apor, Róbert Balogh, Karolina Bittner, Stefano Bottoni, Krzysztof Brzechczyn, Sándor Horváth, Przemysław Zwiernik
15 February 2016
Place and time of conference
Poznań, Poland, 21-22 April 2016
Keywords: environmental history, ecology, communist regimes, environmental disasters, green movements, famine
Fields: history, sociology, environmental studies, anthropology, cultural studies
Many social and economic practices had led to various forms of ecological disequilibria in the Pre-Modern, Modern, and Post-Modern eras. Ecological issues are among the most important and yet unacknowledged aspects of the history of communist rule over much of Central and Eastern Europe after 1945. Marxist ideology contained an idea for human domination over nature which, in turn, had an important role to play in legitimizing the communist system. The centralized command–and–quota economy resulted in ecological disequilibria, irrational management of natural resources and environmental contamination. Yet throughout the former Eastern Bloc, neither the planned economy nor policies explicitly concerning the environment were static after 1945.
The post–war famine and the so–called Great Plan for the Transformation of Nature were major stages of the late Stalinist period in terms of ecological impact. In the 1950s and 1960s, alongside the ideology of the communist regimes, scientific and technological revolutions and import substitution in the economy triggered intensified resource extraction and thus environmental damage throughout the region. Both mining and re–cultivation had to do with landscapes and wounded landscapes. Many regional studies highlight the impact of collectivization and the adverse results of experts’ ideas on improving agricultural productivity.
The era following the so–called high–modernity of the post–war decade yet again brought new economic ideas and practices to the former Eastern Bloc (as well as other parts of the globe). The ecological impact of export–oriented Eastern Block economies differed from the effects of trade and production practices in earlier decades, not least because of the use of nuclear energy. Under the communist dictatorships, the ecological results of economic policies were not presented to public opinion or subjected to democratic control. This state of affairs resulted in the catastrophe at Chernobyl on April 26, 1986. After this, the ecological results of the functioning of communist systems openly took on a political dimension. They were subject to the policies of the communist states, and they were part of the political ideas and activities of opposition and dissident groups in the communist societies.
Given the state of the scholarship on environmental history in the region, the aim of the conference is to investigate and analyze the following issues:
Chernobyl and other ecological disasters in the history of communism;
the ecological impacts of collectivization and agricultural technology in the former Eastern Bloc;
the ecological results of different periods of communist economy and polity;
the influence of the Chernobyl disaster on the development of the opposition in communist states and the legitimization of the communist system;
the importance of ecological and environmental protection as an issue in culture and counterculture;
Chernobyl in the international press and public opinion and the popular memory of disasters as represented in movies, video games etc.;
environmental protection in governmental policies and as part of the endeavors of the various forms of opposition in communist states;
ecological and environmental protection in Cold War propaganda and ideology.
Abstracts should be sent to: krzysztof.brzechczyn@ipn.gov.pl; brzech@amu.edu.pl and a copy to rbalogh215@gmail.com
Organizers:
Hungarian Academy of Sciences (HAS), Research Centre for the Humanities, Institute of History
Institute of National Remembrance, Branch Office in Poznań
Institute of Philosophy at Adam Mickiewicz University
Polish Philosophical Associations, Poznań Division
Scientific Board: Péter Apor, Róbert Balogh, Karolina Bittner, Stefano Bottoni, Krzysztof Brzechczyn, Sándor Horváth, Przemysław Zwiernik