An End to History? Climate Change, the Past and the Future

3rd - 4th April 2008, Birmingham and Midland Institute, Birmingham, UK

The premise of this conference is that human society has had a potentially catastrophic effect on the earth’s climate. For some commentators it is not out of the question that we will bring about our own extinction unless we modify our behaviour. And while the scientific community has had a major influence on governments’ and the public’s understanding of climate change, the contribution of the humanities has been less significant. Therefore this conference seeks contributions from across the humanities, from historians, archaeologists, anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists, human geographers, demographers, philosophers, writers, and from students of politics, economics, international relations, religion, literature and culture.

Contributions should aim to:

* explore how this potentially catastrophic situation has arisen
* understand how societies, polities and cultures have previously, or currently, sustained themselves in conditions of scarcity and adversity
* learn from the experiences of past and current societies which have coped with severe climate or environmental change
* raise awareness of the value of humanities for understanding climate change and its impact on past and present societies

The conference is open to everyone with an interest in the development of our understanding of climate change, whether they are researchers, students, campaigners or others.