Imaginings
stories, creative nonfiction, poetry, and other imaginative accounts of the natural world
-
Making Tracks: Vimbai Kwashirai
In the “Making Tracks€ series, RCC fellows and alumni present their experiences in environmental humanities, retracing the paths that led them to the Rachel Carson Center. For more information, please click here. “Seeing the Hyenas for the Calves!€ By Vimbai Kwashirai One pitch dark night, it was storming heavily when my grandma, Grace Rungutai Kamutero,…
-
Snapshot: “energie.wenden (energy.transitions)”
We need to transition towards more sustainable energy systems! But what is keeping us from making the necessary changes? Technology? Politics? Psychology? Following the successful exhibition on the Anthropocene, the Deutsches Museum and the RCC are once again teaming up for another large exhibition. This time, the title is “energie.wenden€ (energy transitions) and it focuses…
-
Making Tracks: Chris Conte
In the “Making Tracks€ series, RCC fellows and alumni present their experiences in environmental humanities, retracing the paths that led them to the Rachel Carson Center. For more information, please click here. “Rust Belt Recollections and a Winding Road to Munich€ by Chris Conte By the time I arrived at the Rachel Carson Center in…
-
Snapshot: “Beyond Doom and Gloom: An Exploration Through Letters€—A New Virtual Exhibition
By Katrin Kleemann The Environment & Society Portal has launched a new virtual exhibition, curated by Elin Kelsey. It is a collection of letters that addresses the cultural concept of “doom and gloom€ with regard to the issues we are currently facing at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The concept of “doom and gloom€ makes it…
-
Snapshot: Busy Urban Mining Bees
The warm temperatures we saw here in Munich at the beginning of April were likely the trigger for the frantic mating spectacle of Andrena mining bees. These busy little bees overwinter in burrows and over the course of a few days in spring, the adults emerge to reproduce. A frenzy ensues as the males wrestle each other to catch and mate with the emerging…
-
Making Tracks: Sarah Strauss
In the “Making Tracks€ series, RCC fellows and alumni present their experiences in environmental humanities, retracing the paths that led them to the Rachel Carson Center. For more information, please click here. “Hither and Yon—All roads lead to Munich?€ by Sarah Strauss It’s really all about the stories. I started my academic career thinking I…
-
Snapshot: “Consuming the World€ workshop, RCC, 11–12 March 2016
The workshop “Consuming the World: Eating and Drinking in Culture, History, and Environment€ took place at the Rachel Carson Center on 11–12 March and brought together scholars from a range of disciplines for two days of discussions on food, culture, history, and the environment. In addition to the papers from participants, there was also a…
-
Bavarian Beavers Remind Us of Lent
Walking along the Isar and Würm rivers in Munich you can see the remnants of trees that have been felled by the resident, nonhuman “ecological engineers.€ Conservationists are delighted by the success of beaver reintroduction programs, but residents on the receiving end of beaver-related damage and safety hazards are beginning to find cause for complaint.…
-
Bookshelf: “Empire of Cotton” by Sven Beckert
By Ernst Langthaler Among the books that have recently widened and deepened my historical knowledge the most is Sven Beckert’s Empire of Cotton. Drawing on a broad base of research in numerous archives and on a wealth of literature, the author follows the traces of cotton through the last millennia and across continents. He shows…