54 ICA: Past crisis in the Americas: environment and socio-cultural process Print
Written by Peter Eeckhout   
Monday, 16 May 2011 07:56

Dear friends and colleagues,

The following link leads to the webpage of the symposium we are organizing jointly with Charlotte Arnauld in the framework of the 54th International Congress of Americanists, to be held in Vienna-Austria, between the 15th and 20th of July, 2012.

http://ica2012.univie.ac.at/pre-approved-symposia/15-socio-ecological-crisis-environmental-and-resource-politics/#858

Please note that the the deadline for paper submission is August 31, 2011.

Best regards,
Peter Eeckhout (Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium)

Online guidelines and forms: http://ica2012.univie.ac.at/call-for-papers/how-to-submit-a-proposal/

Symposium Abstract:

858 - Past crisis in the Americas: environment and socio-cultural process

Convener: Arnauld Charlotte (CNRS-Université de Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne Nanterre France / Frankreich)
Co-Convener: Eeckhout, Peter (Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium / Belgien)

Until recently, archaeology and ethnohistory have given emphasis on episodes of so-called collapses in the cultural sequences of prehispanic societies during the last two millenia on the American continent. Research in progress in Amazonia, theAndes, Mesoamerica, also the Arctic, opens new perspectives on what should be better approached as “rapid change” and the development of resilient strategies. In a few case studies, reappraisal of field data and ethnohistorical documents leads toconstruct chronological sequences articulating environmental events with socio-political processes, as well as the corresponding emic histories recorded by local authorities. One central issue focuses upon the intentional role of elites at distinctspatial and social scales in the reorganization of entities, and the long-term “costs” of their politics.

Keywords: collapse, rapid change, resilience, environment