SWEDISH SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES NETWORK

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International Conference on the Environmental
History of Asia, 4-7 December 2002, at New Delhi, India:

Conference Announcement:

The theme of the conference is ”The History of Water, Health, Forests and Commons”. The co-sponsors of the conference are the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), the University of Sussex, and the Australian National University. The Conference will also be the first meeting of the International Environmental History Association.

It will be held at JNU, a premier academic institution of South Asia. The core fund will come from the DSA Programme of the Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies, JNU, and possibilities of grant from other agencies like UGC, Ministry of Environment, etc. are being explored.

The conference builds on the highly successful 1992 conference on the Environmental History of South and Southeast Asia published by Oxford University Press India under the title Nature and the Orient; the Environmental History of South and Southeast Asia. However the 2002 conference seeks involvement by those writing on the environmental history of all areas from Turkey in the west to the Western Pacific in the east (including Australia and New Zealand), and including central and east Asia. It is anticipated that the bulk of papers will be on South and Southeast Asia.
Papers are invited on theme subjects and also on subjects including or related to the histories of:- prehistory of the environment, pre-colonial, colonial and post colonial forest conservation and management; river control; flood control; national parks; ornithology; arable expansion; climate history and change; environmentalism; management of commons; indigenous knowledge; tribal/indigenous/adivasi/aborigine people and environment; the natural sciences; museums; public health; the medical profession; disease epidemiology; famines; extreme events; impact of railway and road building; dam-building; popular environmental movements; tourism and the environment; the timber trade; globalisation and the Asian environment; art and the environment; urban environmental history; dance/drama/ artistic portrayals and the environment; film and the environment; environmental justice issues.
This list is not intended to preclude other related subjects. All submissions will be considered by an academic committee of experts. The proceedings of the conference will be published by Oxford University Press or Manohar Press and the International Journal of Environmental History.
Accomodation at a reasonable charge will be available for delegates to the conference on the JNU campus and early booking is advisable if this accomodation is required. Assistance with travel will be available for delegates attending from within India and for selected non-Indian delegates. Please enquire if you think you may need assistance.

Paper titles and abstracts for the conference should be submitted by May 31st 2002. Complete papers should be submitted in BOTH electronic and paper form by Sept 30th 2002. All enquiries and submissions should be made to envhistasia@hotmail.com. Postal enquiries and paper submissions should be made to Professor Deepak Kumar (JNU) and Dr Richard Grove (Australian National University) at this address: c/o Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies, School of Social Sciences, Jawarhalal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067. (Tel.91-11-6107676 Ext.2416 (Office), Residence-6198211, Dean Office Fax- 91-11-6101841).