Event Description
The Harz Mountains in central Germany bear witness to more than a thousand years of mineral extraction. Especially since the high Middle Ages the practices and infrastructures of extraction have transformed the region. The Harz provides an excellent laboratory for collaborative interdisciplinary investigation of a socio-natural landscape from the deep past to the present. For eight days, the 2024 Minescapes Summer School explored the complexity and dynamics of human-environmental interactions in one of the most intensive pre-industrial mining landscapes in Europe. Students and instructors from the social and natural sciences explored the archives of nature ((mines, forests, water systems, and soils) and the archives of society (historical maps and drawings, manuscripts and printed books of mining, metallurgy, alchemy, forestry, and water management). This talk recounts the interdisciplinary investigations - including field studies of the minescape, library research, and soil testing for heavy metals - and reflects on the potential for such research and training.
Event Speakers
Speakers include Pamela Smith, Founding Director of the Center for Science and Society and Seth Low Professor of History at Columbia University. Please see the event webpage for full speaker list.
Event Information
Open to Columbia University ID holders. Please visit the event webpage or email [email protected] with any questions.
Hosted by the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University.
