Energy Transitions in Long Modernity
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Huddersfield
Department Name: School of Arts and Humanities
Abstract
The Energy Transitions in Long Modernity (ETLM) network will generate exciting topical research on a pivotal epoch in the history of the planet: the gradual shift from an energy regime of wood, water, and wind to one powered by coal, oil, and nuclear fission. One of the most effective methods to sharpen our imagination of a post-petroleum future is by turning to the past. With an eye on our current energy predicament, participants will examine how previous societies coped with scarcity and crisis, analysing the narratives they created to promote the adoption of alternatives. Going beyond the vogue for steampunk, the network will explore other types of retro-futurism that might inspire us to repurpose or retrofit old technology to meet contemporary energy challenges.
The research generated by this network will have wide-ranging impact both within and beyond academia. By bringing together a diverse cohort of experts across the humanities, sciences, and energy heritage, the network will enable conversations and knowledge exchange across disciplines and sectors as well as time periods, from the early modern to contemporary, revealing how energy studies can reshape humanities research agendas and inform policy to meet an urgent global challenge.
In Year 1, we will host three online symposia via MS Teams on energy retro-futurism and the early history of renewables: Water, Wind, Solar. The first plumbs the uses and consequences of hydrological power, tracing its flows through politics, literature, and art. The second online event surveys the long history of wind-farming around the world. It examines the harnessing of wind in the age of sails, windmills and balloons, while reappraising cultural responses to the transition from wind to coal such as Turner's iconic Fighting Temeraire. The final online symposium explores the harvesting of energy from the sun prior to the invention of photovoltaic cells in 1954.
This tripartite division will build upon the expertise and contacts from our previous environmental humanities network Earth, Sea, Sky, expanding and revamping it with an entirely new focus and research agenda. The online format will enable international participation while minimizing the carbon footprint. The PI and US lead will moderate each symposium and conclude with a series of questions: e.g., what cross-disciplinary knowledge has emerged, and what collaborations might arise that could translate this knowledge into action?
In Year 2, we will run two in-person events. The first will be held at The National Coal Mining Museum in Yorkshire. It will assess the cultural factors contributing to the rise of a coal-based economy and the ways in which culture can fuel a transition towards a clean energy future. Hosting this gathering in situ will provide an immediate and visceral appreciation of the materiality and social history of energy extraction, framing and enriching the discussion. This will be followed by a tour of the newly refurbished Power Hall at the Manchester Science and Industry Museum. These visits will provide a first-hand knowledge of how the UK's industrial heritage is currently relayed to the public and how its saga might be retold to energise climate activism.
The second event, hosted by the Clark Library at the University of California-Los Angeles, will build upon these discussions to demonstrate how the cultural history of past energy transitions can inspire and guide new habits and policies. California is a hotbed of the new energy economy, home to many energy tech researchers and think-tanks on energy policy, making it an ideal setting for the gathering. The archival resources of the Clark Library will provide a long view of the history of resource extraction in the Americas and of previous transitions brought about by European colonisation.
In sum, the network will demonstrate the power of the humanities to deliver a jolt to energy studies and policy.
The research generated by this network will have wide-ranging impact both within and beyond academia. By bringing together a diverse cohort of experts across the humanities, sciences, and energy heritage, the network will enable conversations and knowledge exchange across disciplines and sectors as well as time periods, from the early modern to contemporary, revealing how energy studies can reshape humanities research agendas and inform policy to meet an urgent global challenge.
In Year 1, we will host three online symposia via MS Teams on energy retro-futurism and the early history of renewables: Water, Wind, Solar. The first plumbs the uses and consequences of hydrological power, tracing its flows through politics, literature, and art. The second online event surveys the long history of wind-farming around the world. It examines the harnessing of wind in the age of sails, windmills and balloons, while reappraising cultural responses to the transition from wind to coal such as Turner's iconic Fighting Temeraire. The final online symposium explores the harvesting of energy from the sun prior to the invention of photovoltaic cells in 1954.
This tripartite division will build upon the expertise and contacts from our previous environmental humanities network Earth, Sea, Sky, expanding and revamping it with an entirely new focus and research agenda. The online format will enable international participation while minimizing the carbon footprint. The PI and US lead will moderate each symposium and conclude with a series of questions: e.g., what cross-disciplinary knowledge has emerged, and what collaborations might arise that could translate this knowledge into action?
In Year 2, we will run two in-person events. The first will be held at The National Coal Mining Museum in Yorkshire. It will assess the cultural factors contributing to the rise of a coal-based economy and the ways in which culture can fuel a transition towards a clean energy future. Hosting this gathering in situ will provide an immediate and visceral appreciation of the materiality and social history of energy extraction, framing and enriching the discussion. This will be followed by a tour of the newly refurbished Power Hall at the Manchester Science and Industry Museum. These visits will provide a first-hand knowledge of how the UK's industrial heritage is currently relayed to the public and how its saga might be retold to energise climate activism.
The second event, hosted by the Clark Library at the University of California-Los Angeles, will build upon these discussions to demonstrate how the cultural history of past energy transitions can inspire and guide new habits and policies. California is a hotbed of the new energy economy, home to many energy tech researchers and think-tanks on energy policy, making it an ideal setting for the gathering. The archival resources of the Clark Library will provide a long view of the history of resource extraction in the Americas and of previous transitions brought about by European colonisation.
In sum, the network will demonstrate the power of the humanities to deliver a jolt to energy studies and policy.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Todd Borlik (Principal Investigator) |