Suchergebnisse

Hydraulic systems are the visible embodiment of political power and critical determinants of social participation. In addition, they may direct societal progress, in part, through opportunities for profitable development in the hands of experts in management positions. This volume addresses the social aspects of hydraulic systems and examines how power relationships are negotiated by only seemingly neutral technologies. Birte Föster, DarmstadtMartin Bauch, Rom

Societal and environmental change not only coincide during the period 1250–1380, they interact: What has been long discussed as the 'Crisis of the 14th Century' is happening during a shifting climatic regime, from the Medieval Climate Anomaly to the onset of the Little Ice Age. The volume highlights this 'teleconnections' between environment and society with a set of interdisciplinary and regionally diverse contributions on Europe and beyond.

Pre-modern critical interactions of nature and society can best be studied during the so-called "Crisis of the 14th Century". While historiography has long ignored the environmental framing of historcial processes and scientists have over-emphasized nature's impact on the course of human history, this volume tries to describe the at times complex modes of the late-medieval relationship of man and nature. The idea of 'teleconnection', borrowed from the geosciences, describes the influence of atmospheric circulation patterns often over long distances. It seems that there were 'teleconnections' in society, too. So this volumes aims to examine man-environment interactions mainly in the 14th century from all over Europe and beyond. It integrates contributions from different disciplines on impact, perception and reaction of environmental change and natural extreme events on late Medieval societies. For humanists from all historical disciplines it offers an approach how to integrate written and even scientific evidence on environmental change in established and new fields of historical research. For scientists it demonstrates the contributions scholars from the humanities can provide for discussion on past environmental changes.