Keynote Speakers

Claudia M Leal, Universidad de los Andes, Colombia

25 August 2023 | 11:15am-12:45pm | UniS – S003

Tenacious: An alternative history of dogs from across the ocean

Claudia Leal was born and raised at 2.600 meters in Bogotá, Colombia, where she is full professor at the Department of History and Geography at Universidad de los Andes; currently, she is also global faculty at the University of Cologne in Germany. She doubles as geographer and historian, and uses an environmental lens to explore old historical questions, such as state formation and the building of freedom in the aftermath of slavery. She researches national parks, forests, water management, and animals mostly in her home country, while also contributing to build a general environmental history of Latin America.

Abstract
Spaniards who arrived in the Americas used the word gozque to scorn native dogs, who reminded them of similar ones from home whose insignificance made them unfit to be designated with the real name. These and other creatures who have been called so—and tolerated, cherished, and persecuted—have been part of human lives and environments across centuries. The tenacity of these underdogs has made them historical actors who can shed light on the conundrums of sharing a planet in peril.  

Jon Mathieu, University of Lucerne

22 August 2023 | 11:15am-12:45pm | UniS – S003

Sacred Mountains. Environmental History and Religion

Jon Mathieu is Editor-in-chief of the journal "Histories", and Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Lucerne. He was the founding director of the Institute of Alpine History at the University of Ticino and has published widely about the history of mountain regions, e.g. The Third Dimension. A Comparative History of Mountains in the Modern Era (2011); The Alps. An Environmental History (2019); Mount Sacred. A Brief Global History of Holy Mountains Since 1500 (2023).

Mount Kailash in Asia, the Black Hills in North America, Uluru in Australia: around the globe, numerous mountains have been and continue to be attributed sacredness. This lecture looks at the cultural diversity of sacred mountains and situates their exploration both in recent research and in ecological policy and practice. How should we deal with religion as environmental historians?

→ Mount Sacred. A Brief Global History of Holy Mountains Since 1500 (english)
→ Mount Sacred. Eine kurze Globalgeschichte der heiligen Berge seit 1500 (deutsch)