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The Matter of Politics. History of science, technology, and environments

Research theme: Humanities | Lives, materialities, representations
  • Paul Nash, "We are Making a New World", 1918, huile sur toile, IWMPaul Nash, "We are Making a New World", 1918, huile sur toile, IWM

Science, technology, and ecology are at the center of today's interlocking crises, from climate disruption to plastic pollution, from dependence on fossil fuels to the collapse of biodiversity. As such, they are increasingly central to politics in every realm and at every scale, from social movements to international diplomacy.This seminar aims to explore this multifaceted “matter” of politics at the intersection of the history of science, the history of technology, and environmental history. 

Throughout modern history, science, technology, and ecology have determined the organization of humans, living organisms and things; they have been the target of public action and institutions; they have become objects of controversy and conflict between social groups, states and empires. By shedding light on this, environmental history, the history of science and the history of technology can thus contribute to renewing our understanding of history and politics as thoroughly material and ecological processes.

This seminar aims to provide a forum for recently published contributions and ongoing projects that contribute to this renewal, while fostering new research on these topics at the Center for History at Sciences Po. Every year, the seminar focuses on one particular theme which offers the opportunity to explore a diversity of approaches, methods and research questions on the “matter of politics” in modern history. This year's seminar will explore these questions through the theme of wars and their imprint on environments, landscapes, bodies, technologies and knowledge.

Provisional Calender 2024-2025

  1. 27 septembre 2024, 12h30-14h30 
    Séance coordonnée par Bastien Cabot
    Olivier Saint-Hilaire (EHESS/CIRED/IRIS), "Désarmer les sols. Une histoire environnementale du désobusage (1914-2019)"
  2. 18 octobre 2024, 12h30-14h30
    Séance coordonnée par Guillaume Lachenal
    Dora Vargha (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin / University of Exeter), "Hawkeye' in North Korea: everyday life in a communist field hospital in the Korean War"
  3. 15 novembre 2024, 12h30-14h30
    Séance coordonnée par Bastien Cabot
    Pierre Charbonnier (Sciences Po, CEE), à propos de son dernier ouvrage Vers l'écologie de guerre. Une histoire environnementale de la paix (Paris, La Découverte, 2024).
  4. 6 décembre 2024, 12h30-14h30
    Séance coordonnée par Thomas Tari
    Benjamin Cancès et Alain Devos (Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne), "Héritage environnemental de la Grande Guerre en Champagne-Ardenne"
  5. 7 février 2025, 12h30-14h30
    Séance coordonnée par Evan Bonney
    Erica Charters (University of Oxford), "Mapping Manpower in Eighteenth-century Colonies"
  6. 7 mars 2025, 12h30-14h30
    Séance coordonnée par Santiago Gorostiza
    Lisa M. Brady (Boise State University), "War and Environment: A Very Short Introduction" (book project)
  7. 4 avril 2025, 12h30-14h30
    Séance coordonnée par Léa Delmaire
    Santiago Gorostiza (IHC-UAB & CHSP), "Capital Resource. Water and the Environmental history of the Spanish Civil War"
  8. 16 mai 2025, 12h30-14h30
    Séance coordonnée par Tiphaine Lours
    Séance à deux intervenants sur la thématique "Indeminiser après le conflit guerrier : les enjeux de l'expertise face aux victimes militaires et civiles"
    Louise Guttin-Vindot (Sciences Po, CHSP) et Damien Garcia (Sciences Po, CSO)
  9. 13 juin 2025
    Journée d'étude en interne
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