OPG: Call for Papers – Environmental Protests in Motion
Environmental Protests in Motion – Reassessing the History of Western European Environmental Movements from the 19th Century to the Present
The study of environmental protests recently has gained new momentum in Germany and the Netherlands. Beyond autobiographical memoirs and the political legitimization of green parties, the focus of historical research has expanded considerably with regard to protagonists, spaces, and periodizations. Furthermore, traditional notions of environmental movements have been challenged by new sociological and philosophical approaches: What contributions are coming from activists to establishing an “ecological era” (Radkau), and to what extent did they facilitate or hinder the emergence of an “ecological class” (Latour/Schultz)? Which themes and actors come to the fore when we analyse the history of environmental protests from the perspective of environmental justice (Martinez-Alier)?
Current developments have also contributed to a reassessment of the history of environmental movements. The question of the climate movement’s place in the broader history of environmental protests, for example, requires a reassessment of continuities and new beginnings since the 19th century with regard to the actors, ideas, and practices of the movements. In a similar vein, the emergence of new environmental issues calls for a fresh assessment of the successes and blind spots of these protests: How, for example, should we evaluate the anti-nuclear movements at a time when nuclear power is experiencing a resurgence? Finally, given the broadening scope of historical scholarship, the question of the relationship between the protagonists’ memories and historiography arises anew. How do these movements’ narratives of their own history relate to their historical interpretations?
In response to these new challenges for writing a history of environmental protests, our aim is to host a workshop that examines the ideas, networks, and practices of environmental movements, their protagonists, and the corresponding historical discourses in Western Europe. We define environmental activism as any initiative that advocates for a change in the relationship between human actors and their environment. We wish to focus on the interconnections among these movements, moving beyond individual issues and specific actions. Our regional focus on Western Europe as a industrialized and densely connected area since the 19th century is intended to reflect on its specific comparable developments.
Therefore, we are particularly interested in the following questions:
Networks and Disconnections
How did local actions in Western Europe relate to broader movements? To what extent did ideas and practices of translocal solidarity develop? Which approaches facilitated building bridges to traditional left-wing movements? Which actors outside the classic protest movements contributed significantly to the establishment of environmental issues? And which actions in the realm of environmental justice failed to resonate with established environmental movements—or even failed altogether?
Coalitions
Who did the movements actually seek to mobilize—in other words, who was the “revolutionary subject” in the traditional sense? To what extent did ideas about alliances align with actual practice? In this regard, can we also view the environment in the context of possessing a specific agency? How can we expand the historiography of environmental movements to include a more-than-human perspective?
Everyday Practices
From the perspective of movement studies, the focus has so far been primarily on the high-profile repertoire of actions employed by environmental movements. What everyday and bodily practices have been established by environmental movements? And which of these have enabled them to keep up with their commitment over the long term? Which everyday practices sparked conflicts?
Memory
Which narratives have environmental movements related themselves to (conservationists, colonialism, local history, etc.)? What blind spots did their self-conception produce? What tensions emerged over the years between sociological and historical scholarship and the movement’s (own) collective memory?
This workshop aims to build a bridge between today’s environmental activists and a contemporary history of the environment and protest cultures, of which they are ultimately a part. We thus hope to contribute to a fruitful dialogue between academia and contemporary environmental movements.
The two-day English-language workshop will take place in May 2027 at the University of Amsterdam and is organized by Peter van Dam (UvA) and Hanno Balz (DIA/UvA).
We look forward to receiving your presentation abstract (500 words) along with a short CV by September 30, 2026.
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