Dr Sarah Irving, Editor of CBRL’s journal Contemporary Levant, in association with CBRL, has been awarded a British Academy conferences grant to hold an event in June 2027 to bring together researchers on the environmental histories of those countries in South-West Asia ruled under League of Nations Mandates between World Wars One and Two.
The conference: Mandatory Environments: environmental histories of the Middle East Mandates, will be held at the University of Staffordshire on 29-30th June 2027. The conference will result in an edited volume which, it is hoped, will form a key resource for understanding the role and experiences of the region’s environments during this period.
Abstracts are invited with a view to participation in the conference Mandatory Environments: environmental histories of the Middle East Mandates, to be held at the University of Staffordshire in England, 29-30th June 2027. Papers will be published in an edited volume with a university press.
Enquiries and abstracts (250 words max.) and biographies (100 words) should be addressed to Dr Sarah Irving, Associate Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History, at [email protected], by 17th January 2027.
Decisions will be shared by mid-February.
As climate change, water scarcity and resource extraction increasingly impact upon the lives of the peoples of South-West Asia, interest in and scholarship on the histories of environment in the region is growing in quantity and depth. This conference, and the resulting edited volume, aspire to contribute to this literature by drawing together research on the period between 1919 and 1948, when League of Nations mandates were imposed upon large parts of the region. Papers are sought which address environmental themes in the histories of the mandated territories, and which also engage with related issues such as colonialism, nationalism and modernity. These themes include, but are not limited to:
- Agriculture, pastoralism and food
- Water, waterways and seas
- More-than-human beings
- The production, transport and consumption of oil and energy
- Resource extraction and use
- Climate and weather
- Infrastructure and landscape
- Environmental knowledge, ideas and scholarship in the period
To facilitate discussion and chapter development, presenters will be asked to submit a 2,000 word version of their work two weeks before the conference. A full-length chapter, length tbc, will be due in spring 2028.
Travel and Accommodation Details:
Due to the kind provision of funding by The British Academy and CBRL, presenters’ travel and accommodation will be covered. Daytime catering will be provided for all participants, whether or not they are presenting. Booking details for those wishing to attend as non-presenting participants will be made available in spring 2027.
