Bridging Boundaries. Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Environmental History of the Low Countries
Interdisciplinary conference in Ghent (Dec 2026) on environmental history of the Low Countries, bringing together scholars to discuss research on climate, landscapes and human–environment relations.
(31-03-2026) Announcement and call for papers for the international conference 'Bridging Boundaries. Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Environmental History of the Low Countries' (Ghent, 3 - 4 December 2026)
We are pleased to announce the organization of an interdisciplinary conference on environmental history on 3-4 December 2026 in Gent (Belgium). It is the result of a joint collaboration between researchers working on the medieval and (early) modern Low Countries and the Roman Society Research Center. The conference wants to encourage the exchange of recent research, ongoing projects, and current debates between scholars working in different disciplines, including environmental history, environmental archaeology, historical ecology, and historical geography. It invites contributions that study environmental change in the Low Countries (defined as the regions located between the North Sea and the Rhine) from Antiquity to modern times. Contributions that cross boundaries between different disciplines (inter-, multi-, or transdisciplinary research) are particularly welcome.
The two-day program will include plenary sessions where senior and junior scholars, postdocs and PhD students will present current research and state-of-field overviews (clusters of 20-minute presentations, 10-minute Q&As).). If you would like to present your research at the conference, please send an abstract (max. 300 words) and short biography to dr. Sander Govaerts (sander.govaerts@ugent.be ) and dr. Stefan Meysman (stefan.meysman@ugent.be ) by 30 April 2026. All topics and fields regarding the environmental history of the Low Countries are welcome, including, but not limited to, water management, food production, landscapes, climate, pollution, relationships between humans and other animals, and biodiversity.
Organizing committee: prof. dr. Maïka De Keyzer, dr. Sander Govaerts, dr. Stefan Meysman, prof. dr. Thijs Lambrecht, prof. dr. Tim Soens en prof. dr. Christophe Verbruggen
Please keep an eye on the website of the University of Gent: https://www.ugent.be/pirenne/en/news-events/news/bridgingboundaries_cfp.