As part of the Digital Workshop Series "Digital Dialogues 數字對話", researchers will discuss various aspects and questions of the joint project.
Literary and Visual Representations of Climate Changes and Environmental Cataclysm in Early Modern China and Europe
February 22, 2023, 1.15 – 2.45 PM
How and to what extent could have climate changes affected literary writings and visual arts in the historical past? This “Digital Dialogue” attempts to draw attention to and reconsider the role and agency of climate, or the interactions between humans and the climatic and environmental changes, in the creation of literature and arts in early modern China and Europe during the Little Ice Age (c. 1300 - 1850). It is divided into three parts: First, the two dialogue partners will give an overview of the current state of research in their respective fields and the early modern environmental changes and cataclysm along with the climate fluctuations in China and the German-speaking areas in Europe. Then, they will present their case studies of respective cultural products, including paintings, poetry, and sacred songs in/around the seventeenth century, in which the relationships between environmental conditions and the dominant belief systems can be contoured. In the concluding dialogue, similarities and differences in the regional cultural reactions to adverse environmental conditions will be discussed. Furthermore, some new aspects and issues of interdisciplinary studies (e.g., environmental humanities) will be explored, and an outlook on further collaboration will be given.
Speakers:
After a Bachelor's degree in Near Eastern Archaeology and Assyriology and a Master's degree in Edition Studies and Textual Criticism, Joana van de Löcht wrote a dissertation on Ernst Jünger's diaries of the Second World War at the University of Heidelberg, which was published in 2018. She collaborated in various edition projects and has been a research assistant at the Institute of German Studies at WWU Münster since April 2021. Her current research focuses on the influence of early modern environmental conditions on culture and literature.
Yizhou Wang received her MLitt. in Arts of China from the University of Glasgow and in 2022 completed her PhD in Chinese Art History at the University of Heidelberg. Her dissertation focuses on the (self-) representations of courtesans in Ming dynasty paintings, with chapters interrogating issues of gender and plants. She worked at the Calligraphy and Painting Department of the Palace Museum Beijing in 2014. She also studied at SOAS University of London, Kyoto University, and Tokyo University. She is currently working as a Research Assistant Professor at Hong Kong Baptist University. In recent years, she has been working on human-nature interactions in arts and literature during the Ming-Qing transition.
Access:
The event will take place on zoom:https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82811082430?pwd=UlJJQUJPaFJjWDJPMkxYUC9HZ294Zz09