Green Britain: Nationhood and the Environment, 1500-1750
One day interdisciplinary symposium run by the Birmingham Centre for Reformation and Early Modern Studies (CREMS)
Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon
25 June, 2016
The conference aims to investigate the concept of Nationhood as defined by the dynamic that exists between people, place, and space during a period of burgeoning ecological consciousness.
‘It is this horrid Smoake which obscures our Churches, and makes our Palaces look old, which fouls our Clothes, and corrupts the Waters, so as the very Rain, and refreshing Dews which fall in the several Seasons, precipitate this impure vapour…’
Lamenting the devastating effects of air pollution on London landmarks caused by the unchecked burning of sea-coal, John Evelyn here writes to the King proposing several solutions to the problem in his 1661 pamphlet Fumifugium, one of the earliest known works on air pollution. London was enveloped in thick, noxious smog caused by the burning of so-called ‘sea-coal’, the increased use of which led to a massive increase in death due to respiratory diseases, as well as widespread ecological devastation: the smog affected ‘Fowl, and kills our Bees and Flowers abroad, suffering nothing in our Gardens to bud, display themselves, or ripen…’ To this end, Evelyn proposes several measures to reduce the pollution in ‘this Glorious and Antient City’, ‘the most happy upon Earth.’
During the early modern period, national identity was increasingly defined by the dynamic between people and the environment they populated. While many still longed for the pastoral ideal of Britain as the ‘Eden of Europe’, the looming threat of pollution, natural disaster, resource depletion, and urbanisation beset the thoughts of contemporary writers, theologians, and politicians. Though it had been long held that the environment had an observable influence on the fortunes of a nation and the character of its citizens, the inhabitants of early modern Britain now became gradually conscious of their impact on the natural world. Environmental issues of increasing variety and scale plagued early modern Britain as society struggled to sustain a rapidly expanding population. From changes in agricultural land use and poor forestry management, to the increasing reliance on the smog-inducing ‘sea-coal’ for fuel, many feared adverse effects on the minds, bodies, and souls of British citizens. Against this backdrop of environmental degradation, Britons were also forced to contend with the harshest decades of the so-called ‘Little Ice Age’ and a series of extreme weather events that were habitually seen as acts of divine retribution against the Lord’s elect nation. Further to this, new scientific developments in meteorology and geography, and the rise of Baconian methodology, increasingly affected the contemporary theory and practice of environmental governmentality. Differences in race, ethnicity, and national character were explained according to climate and colonies judged on their suitability to the British complexion, with climatological observations acting as an incentive for colonial exploitation.
Beyond vague collocations of Merry England’s ‘green and pleasant lands’, ‘Green Britain’ therefore aims to explore the complex relationship between national identity and the environment in a period of tumultuous ecological change. What conclusions can we derive from the study of early modern environmental issues, and how can we apply these to the complex idea of the early modern identity? To what extent is nationhood defined by the dynamic that exists between people, space, and place? And furthermore, is it possible to define an early modern attitude toward green issues? To this end, we invite proposals for both panels and papers based on the themes of nationhood and/or early modern ‘green’ issues for our one-day interdisciplinary symposium on 25 June, 2016. Topics may include, but are not limited to:
- Travel writing
- Emerging scientific discourses
- Climate theory
- Pollution
- Space and place
- Cartography and map-making
- Seascapes and maritime history
- Town and country
- Cultivation and Agriculture
- Geography and Meteorology
- Astrology and Cosmology
- Enclosure and land ownership
- Colonialism and Empire
- Providence and providential disaster
- Natural philosophy
- Ecological issues
- Diseases and cures
- Vegetarianism
- Animals and animal rights
Please email abstracts of no more than 250 words for papers of 15-20 minutes in length to Tayler and Elizabeth at: greenbritain2016@gmail.com. The abstract deadline both for papers and for panel suggestions is 31 March, 2016.
