Imaginings
stories, creative nonfiction, poetry, and other imaginative accounts of the natural world
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Storytelling and Storyboarding Science: The Global Science Film Festival
by Malin Klinski As a student of the Rachel Carson Center’s Environmental Studies Certificate Program, I had the chance to go to Zurich from 15–18 November 2019 to attend the second Global Science Film Festival (which ran in parallel in Bern). This excursion was part of the seminar “Storytelling and Storyboarding Science” by film festival…
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A Whale of a Time
*Featured image: Sperm whales under attack, from Thomas Beale’s The Natural History of the Sperm Whale (1839). Photo: The New York Public Library via rawpixel, public domain. By: Daniel Dumas Zodiac crossings of rough seas, imperial expansion, and narratives of resistance and resilience. This is not the backdrop of an action flick coming to the…
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URBAN ENVIRONMENTS: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
Workshop Report (10–12 October 2019 at whiteBOX in Werksviertel-Mitte, Munich) By Anna Antonova This workshop was convened by Christof Mauch and Gesa Lüdecke at the Rachel Carson Center as part of the new collaboration between Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU Munich), New York University (NYU), New York University Abu Dhabi, and the University of Cambridge, which focuses on…
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Post-Mosquito Mortem: A Symposium Report
A report of the event “Mosquitopia? The Place of Pests in a Healthy World” (A Rachel Carson Legacy Symposium). For more on the topic, check out the three-part feature “Mosquitopia” in the ongoing series “Silent Spring Continued: A World without Insects.” 24–27 October 2019, Landshut (Munich) By Marcus Hall At the end of three days…
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Contested Ecologies: Munich
By: Clemens Hufeld Munich is a beautiful city that has much to offer. It has the Oktoberfest, one of the world’s largest urban fairs, surfers in the middle of the city, beautiful landscapes in its vicinity, and a long tradition of urban life. The city is shrouded in such a wonderful air of beauty that…
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Cfp: An Existential Toolkit for Climate Educators
Workshop, 03.07.2020 – 05.07.2020 Conveners: Jennifer Atkinson, Elin Kelsey, Sarah Ray Location: Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society, Munich, Germany 03.07.2020 – 05.07.2020 This workshop seeks materials and presentations for an interdisciplinary workshop that will address the following question: how can educators, activists, and community leaders help students navigate the emotional impacts of ecological degradation and…
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The Making of a Mountain: Constructing the Untersberg Mountain as a Contemporary Spiritual Destination
By: Robert Baumgartner While waiting for the train back to Munich at the end of our place-based workshop in Berchtesgaden National Park last summer, I browsed the local station bookshop’s section on local tourism, culture, and folklore. With the National Park becoming an ever more popular tourist destination, it was not surprising to see tables filled…
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Memorializing the Landscape: Walking the Stanza Stones Trail
By: Eveline de Smalen Preparing to take my sister out on a walk in the Yorkshire countryside, I looked at a map. The map, as it often is in these days of technological wonder, was an app that I have on my phone. I am a literary critic, not a cartographer. I don’t know very…
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Stimmenspur: Sound Trails in the English Garden
By Vera Kovacs Have you ever burst into tears when a song came on the radio that reminded you of a loved one lost? Have you ever avoided going a certain route or into a room in your house where you once had a bad experience? Have you ever mimicked the hand gestures of a…