In early September, I participated in the symposium “Transdisciplinary in the Environmental Humanities” at the Oslo School of Environmental Humanities (OSEH), University of Oslo. Two packed days with traditional paper presentations and more experimental formats gave a fascinating insight into the “state of the art” in Environmental Humanities research.

The two keynotes, by Dolly Jørgensen (Professor of History at University of Stavanger, Norway) and Kate Rigby (Alexander von Humboldt Professor at the University of Cologne, Germany), addressed the affordances and limits of inter- and transdisciplinary research and public engagement through the lenses of their own work and career paths. They also reflected on the responsibilities of those working in EH research towards, on the one hand, the participants in the research and EH projects, but on the other hand also towards those being trained, in emerging Environmental Humanities degrees, in an extremely interdisciplinary field whereas the academy – and thus the jobs – remain firmly rooted in disciplinary structures.

These conversations are also very relevant for us here at Tema T and in the Nuclear Natures project. Coming from a variety of disciplines – history, archeology, cultural studies, human geography, anthropology –, our team is continuously negotiating a common language for speaking about our shared and individual projects. This was also part of my presentation, on Mieke Bal’s theoretization of “traveling concepts”, from which a lively and fruitful discussion ensued.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the two intensive days in Oslo and want to thank the organizers for their hospitality.

Hannah Klaubert