The conference will focus on environmental knowledge production in the U.S. by taking as starting points the impact of natural catastrophes and of public debates on climate change and environmental threats. Papers will address the social, political, economic, ecological, and cultural effects of natural catastrophes. At stake will be issues such as disaster management and politics, disaster as spectacle, and the popular imagination of catastrophe which point to the role of language, texts, and the media in creating and limiting knowledge about environmental issues and about the political, economic, and ethical dimensions of the human-nature relationship.

In bringing together historians and geographers, literary and cultural studies scholars, political scientists, anthropologists, and scientists from the United States and Europe, the conference will demonstrate that the human experience and imagination of environment have played a truly important role in American culture.

For detailed information on the program as well as on our international speakers please visit www.amerika-akademie.de

Registration at 089-54 50 40 30 / info@amerika-akademie.de

Supported by U.S. Consulate General Munich, B.A.Z. Amerika Haus

Organizers: Rachel Carson Center Munich, Bavarian American Academy