Workshop: Contested Society-Nature-Relations. Forest related Emotions, Practices & Conflicts in Times of Societal Change | 27/28 May 2021

Foto: Reetta Karhunkorva

The aim of the multidisciplinary workshop on contested society-nature-relations is to discuss the changing relationships between individuals, society as a whole, and nature – especially forests – in times of societal change. 

Programme of the Workshop

Please register until 26th May 2021 via Email flumen@uni-jena.de with the following subject “registration HFR Workshop” including the following information: -> first name -> surname -> your institution

Forests are crucial ecosystems that humans have always been dependent on. Global land use changes, degradation of (forest) land or the valorization of forests and their possible implications constitute impacts on values and attitudes towards forests and various forms of its usage and exploitation. 

Individual relationships with forest can be defined as human-forest-relationships: They are the result of one’s individual and family history, cultural background, the society in which an individual lives, and the forest surrounding a person. This relationship, which combines both, historical and modern values and practices, reflects the constantly evolving global, national, communal, and individual attitudes towards forests. The varying types of human-forest-relationships indicate what forests mean to humans, and they can also provide insight into broader underlying ideas and practices of how individuals, communities, and societies relate to nature as a whole. As a bio-based natural resource linked with nature and society in multiple ways, forests are an interesting case for studying societal and political debates as well as economic and political power relations. 

As part of the field of society-nature-relations (GER: Gesellschaftliche Naturverhältnisse), the workshop focuses on the questions: 

  • How do societies view, construct, investigate, use, exploit, and dominate the ‘nature’ they ultimately depend on? 
  • What are the implications of human-nature-relationships for work in forestry, for the economic usage of nature and forests and for actions and decisions regarding forests? 

Exchange and debates between Finnish and German-speaking researchers working on the cultural and social implications of different types of human-forest-relationships motivate the workshop and its organizers.

Public Event | 27 May 2021 | 18:00-20:00 CET | German/Finnish

Die Zukunft der Wälder – Welche Rolle spielen Gefühle und unsere Beziehung zum Wald? Perspektiven aus Deutschland und Finnland
Metsien tulevaisuus – miten metsäsuhteemme vaikuttavat metsiin. Näkymiä Saksasta ja Suomesta

As part of the workshop we are organising a public event. It will be held in German/Finnish with translation (German <-> Finnish). More information on the public event.

The workshop is organized by

The Junior Research Group ‘Mentalities in Flux’ (flumen) at the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Germany | funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education
&
the ‘Human-forest relationship in Societal Change’ – Research Project: University of Helsinki & University of Eastern Finland | funded by Metsämiesten Säätiö Foundation

The workshop is funded by the Finland Institute in Germany and the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF).

Call for Papers for a Special Issue on „Promises of growth and sustainability in the bioeconomy“ of the Journal for Sustainable Consumption and Production

More information on Special Issue on Promises of growth and sustainability in the bioeconomy of the Journal for Sustainable Consumption and Production

In current debates about the future of modern societies, one concept is increasingly marshalled as providing an answer to multiple challenges: the bioeconomy. The dominant narrative makes the claim that shifting to a bioeconomy based on the flow of renewable energies and biological resources societies can achieve both: ‘green’ economic growth and a rapid phase-out of fossil fuels and resources, thus building a sustainable future. 

The aim of this Special Issue is to shed light on the nexus of sustainability, technology and growth within the bioeconomy from multidisciplinary, critical and constructive perspectives. We invite empirical and/or conceptual contributions addressing but not limited to the following questions: 

  • Can growth-based economies really be made sustainable by just basing them on biogenic instead of fossil materials and resources? 
  • Do the bioeconomy and the innovations of modern biotechnology enable a decoupling of environmental throughput from GDP? 
  • Would the transformation of modern societies towards post-fossil, bio-based economic activities need to involve an overcoming of unlimited economic growth? 
  • What would political processes and bioeconomy implementation strategies have to look like in order to transform the economy in a democratic and participatory way?

The above mentioned Special Issue is a cooperation between Forschungszentrum Juelich as a topical editor (Sandra Venghaus) and the Junior Research Group flumen as guest editors (Dr. Dennis Eversberg, Dr. Martin Fritz, Lilian Pungas).

We would like to invite you to submit papers (various formats possible such as research and review articles, short communications). 

The deadline is June 30, 2021. 

Papers will be peer-reviewed and the aim is to have final papers accepted and sent to production by 30th November 2021, which should mean the special issue can be finalised by the end of the year/early 2022. All information you need as an author with this journal you can find here. 

Do not hesitate to write to us if you have any further questions. Also, we would be very grateful if you shared the call with any colleagues that might be interested.

Dr. Dennis Eversberg      dennis.eversberg@uni-jena.de

Dr. Martin Fritz                martin.fritz@uni-jena.de

Lilian Pungas                  lilian.pungas@uni-jena.de