Siberia, one of the coldest inhabited places on Earth, is being impacted by global warming.On May 10, scholars from around the world will gather at the University of Chicago to try to betterunderstand the effects of global warming on the indigenous people of Siberia. The "Siberian Thaw" workshop, which will bring together scholars from a wide-variety of disciplines -- including linguistics, history, anthropology --aims to find ways to help people affected by the changes caused by climate fluctuations. Organized by Lenore Grenoble, Carl Darling Buck Professor and Department of Slavic Languages, the program willinclude presentations and panel discussions by scholars, and two film screenings ("The Linguists" and "Hunters Since the Beginning of Time").
WHAT:
"Siberian Thaw: Climate Change and Social Change in Siberia"
WHO:
International line-up of conference participants include: Edward Alexeyev (Independent Scholar), David Archer (University of Chicago), Marjorie Balzer (Georgetown University), Nadezhda Bulatova (Institute of Linguistics Research, Russian Academy of Sciences), Gary Cook (Earth Island Institute), William Fitzhugh (Smithsonian Institute), Lenore Grenoble (University of Chicago), K. David Harrison (Swarthmore College), Theodore Levin (Dartmouth College), Florian Stammler (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge).
WHERE:
The Franke Institute for the Humanities, 1100 East 57th Street, JRL S-118.
WHEN:
Friday, May 9 2:30 to 7 p.m., and Saturday, May 10, 2008, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
WHY:
"When you work in a remote village in Siberia, your presence profoundly impacts the local population," Grenoble said. "We must ask what we can do for them together with them." Global warming is affecting the entire planet, yet research on its effects in the Far North has been limited to North America. Grenoble and other participants seek to contribute to the field and enlarge the area of research through this interdisciplinary effort. For more information about this interdisciplinary workshop, please contact Professor Lenore Grenoble (773.702.0927 or grenoble@uchicago.edu), or the Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies (773.702.0866 or ceeres@uchicago.edu).
—Prof. Chuan He
