Medieval Iceland, Greenland, and the New Human Condition: A case study in integrated environmental humanities
This paper contributes to recent studies exploring the longue durée of human impacts on island landscapes, the impacts of climate and other environmental changes on human communities, and the interaction of human societies and their environments at different spatial and temporal scales. In particula...
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ftcityunivny:oai:academicworks.cuny.edu:hc_pubs-1679 2023-05-15T16:28:45+02:00 Medieval Iceland, Greenland, and the New Human Condition: A case study in integrated environmental humanities Hartman, Steven Ogilvie, A.E.J. Ingimundarson, Jón Haukur Dugmore, A.J. Hambrecht, George McGovern, Thomas 2017-04-01T07:00:00Z application/pdf https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_pubs/641 https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1679&context=hc_pubs English eng CUNY Academic Works https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_pubs/641 https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1679&context=hc_pubs Publications and Research Environmental humanities Global change Historical climatology Historical ecology Icelandic sagas Medieval Iceland Political ecology Zooarchaeology Archaeological Anthropology Folklore Medieval History Social and Cultural Anthropology article 2017 ftcityunivny 2023-03-04T23:16:57Z This paper contributes to recent studies exploring the longue durée of human impacts on island landscapes, the impacts of climate and other environmental changes on human communities, and the interaction of human societies and their environments at different spatial and temporal scales. In particular, the paper addresses Iceland during the medieval period (with a secondary, comparative focus on Norse Greenland) and discusses episodes where environmental and climatic changes have appeared to cross key thresholds for agricultural productivity. The paper draws upon international, interdisciplinary research in the North Atlantic region led by the North Atlantic Biocultural Organization (NABO) and the Nordic Network for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies (NIES) in the Circumpolar Networks program of the Integrated History and Future of People on Earth (IHOPE). By interlinking analyses of historically grounded literature with archaeological studies and environmental science, valuable new perspectives can emerge on how these past societies may have understood and coped with such impacts. As climate and other environmental changes do not operate in isolation, vulnerabilities created by socioeconomic factors also beg consideration. The paper illustrates the benefits of an integrated environmental-studies approach that draws on data, methodologies and analytical tools of environmental humanities, social sciences, and geosciences to better understand long-term human ecodynamics and changing human-landscape-environment interactions through time. One key goal is to apply previously unused data and concerted expertise to illuminate human responses to past changes; a secondary aim is to consider how lessons derived from these cases may be applicable to environmental threats and socioecological risks in the future, especially as understood in light of the New Human Condition, the concept transposed from Hannah Arendt's influential framing of the human condition that is foregrounded in the present special issue. This ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland Iceland North Atlantic City University of New York: CUNY Academic Works Greenland Hannah ENVELOPE(-60.613,-60.613,-62.654,-62.654) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
City University of New York: CUNY Academic Works |
op_collection_id |
ftcityunivny |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental humanities Global change Historical climatology Historical ecology Icelandic sagas Medieval Iceland Political ecology Zooarchaeology Archaeological Anthropology Folklore Medieval History Social and Cultural Anthropology |
spellingShingle |
Environmental humanities Global change Historical climatology Historical ecology Icelandic sagas Medieval Iceland Political ecology Zooarchaeology Archaeological Anthropology Folklore Medieval History Social and Cultural Anthropology Hartman, Steven Ogilvie, A.E.J. Ingimundarson, Jón Haukur Dugmore, A.J. Hambrecht, George McGovern, Thomas Medieval Iceland, Greenland, and the New Human Condition: A case study in integrated environmental humanities |
topic_facet |
Environmental humanities Global change Historical climatology Historical ecology Icelandic sagas Medieval Iceland Political ecology Zooarchaeology Archaeological Anthropology Folklore Medieval History Social and Cultural Anthropology |
description |
This paper contributes to recent studies exploring the longue durée of human impacts on island landscapes, the impacts of climate and other environmental changes on human communities, and the interaction of human societies and their environments at different spatial and temporal scales. In particular, the paper addresses Iceland during the medieval period (with a secondary, comparative focus on Norse Greenland) and discusses episodes where environmental and climatic changes have appeared to cross key thresholds for agricultural productivity. The paper draws upon international, interdisciplinary research in the North Atlantic region led by the North Atlantic Biocultural Organization (NABO) and the Nordic Network for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies (NIES) in the Circumpolar Networks program of the Integrated History and Future of People on Earth (IHOPE). By interlinking analyses of historically grounded literature with archaeological studies and environmental science, valuable new perspectives can emerge on how these past societies may have understood and coped with such impacts. As climate and other environmental changes do not operate in isolation, vulnerabilities created by socioeconomic factors also beg consideration. The paper illustrates the benefits of an integrated environmental-studies approach that draws on data, methodologies and analytical tools of environmental humanities, social sciences, and geosciences to better understand long-term human ecodynamics and changing human-landscape-environment interactions through time. One key goal is to apply previously unused data and concerted expertise to illuminate human responses to past changes; a secondary aim is to consider how lessons derived from these cases may be applicable to environmental threats and socioecological risks in the future, especially as understood in light of the New Human Condition, the concept transposed from Hannah Arendt's influential framing of the human condition that is foregrounded in the present special issue. This ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hartman, Steven Ogilvie, A.E.J. Ingimundarson, Jón Haukur Dugmore, A.J. Hambrecht, George McGovern, Thomas |
author_facet |
Hartman, Steven Ogilvie, A.E.J. Ingimundarson, Jón Haukur Dugmore, A.J. Hambrecht, George McGovern, Thomas |
author_sort |
Hartman, Steven |
title |
Medieval Iceland, Greenland, and the New Human Condition: A case study in integrated environmental humanities |
title_short |
Medieval Iceland, Greenland, and the New Human Condition: A case study in integrated environmental humanities |
title_full |
Medieval Iceland, Greenland, and the New Human Condition: A case study in integrated environmental humanities |
title_fullStr |
Medieval Iceland, Greenland, and the New Human Condition: A case study in integrated environmental humanities |
title_full_unstemmed |
Medieval Iceland, Greenland, and the New Human Condition: A case study in integrated environmental humanities |
title_sort |
medieval iceland, greenland, and the new human condition: a case study in integrated environmental humanities |
publisher |
CUNY Academic Works |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_pubs/641 https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1679&context=hc_pubs |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-60.613,-60.613,-62.654,-62.654) |
geographic |
Greenland Hannah |
geographic_facet |
Greenland Hannah |
genre |
Greenland Iceland North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Greenland Iceland North Atlantic |
op_source |
Publications and Research |
op_relation |
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_pubs/641 https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1679&context=hc_pubs |
_version_ |
1766018423090839552 |