Environmental Art History

Reconciling the ecocritical turn in art history with a need to more broadly understand the histories, as well as futures, of our global environment, the field of environmental art history and visual culture is growing. Not only should history make ecological sense, but environmental art history should also contribute to an understanding of present-day environmental concerns. Where the specificity of the environment has often been overlooked in studies of art history and visual culture, environmental art history realigns art historical concerns with environmental realities. With this roundtable we centre the work of art historians from across North America and Europe, and their visually, geographically, materially, and temporally expansive research in dialogue with the larger field of environmental history.

Foregrounding the interdisciplinarity of art history and visual culture and following on from an in-person roundtable at ASEH 2024 in Denver (co-chaired with Chris Slaby), we hope this virtual roundtable revitalises discussions around art in environmental history and actively encourage environmental historians and humanists to intentionally engage with artwork and visual media, not simply as illustrations but as important and necessary primary sources.

Panelists:
Sugata Ray (UC Berkeley)
Monica Bravo (Princeton)
Robyn Barrow (University of Pennsylvania)
Alistair Rider (St. Andrews)
Aris Sarafianos (University of Ioannina)
Chaired by Isabelle Gapp and Hans Hönes