The 10th CITCEM Conference will focus on the diachronic study of coastlines and riverbanks based on environmental concerns and the appreciation of human relations with oceans, seas, rivers and their ecosystems. The aim is that Cultures of Water are observed in their diversity, from a multi-scalar perspective, considering chronological and spatial variations, preferably from an inter- and transdisciplinary perspective.
Following a commitment to strong societal involvement and a concern for establishing dialogues between academia and communities that generate and give life to Cultures of Water, the 10th Conference will seek to identify and encourage processes of co-creation of knowledge. The objective is to establish bridges between the university and communities, to safeguard a heritage that is global in its diversity.
Otherness Within
The local, national and international intercultural transfers and their reflection in society, language, culture and heritage are relevant themes for understanding the processes of identification of “Otherness Within”, which develops through the coexistence of differences. Many of the processes of encountering ‘the other’ take place in coastal and riverside areas. This thematic line analyses expressions of difference, as well as indifference, and their interaction over space and time. It invites the questioning of social constructions based on ideas and concepts of tolerance and/or intolerance, inclusion and/or exclusion, assimilation and/or discrimination. All kinds of minorities are included in these lines of reflection, whether enslaved people, religious groups, foreigners, those seeking asylum and/or refuge and individuals seen by communities as outsiders and/or marginalised groups.
Global Exchanges
The oceans and transoceanic explorations are central to the study of globalisation’s past and future. Focusing on socio-economic, cultural and ecological aspects, as well as on the resulting dynamics of rupture and continuity, this thematic line reflects on the migrations of political, religious and economic models (for example, those resulting from colonisation processes) and their impact on societies, cultures and maritime and riverside landscapes on both sides of the ‘exchange’. This line calls for a reflection on how processes of inter-oceanic transfers and circulation, whether of populations, technology or knowledge, are reflected in Cultures of Water from different parts of the Globe. It points to the study of global maritime dynamics and the mechanisms of globalisation, to which the centrality of the oceans has contributed since the First Global Age (1500-1800).
Shared Territories
This thematic line concerns themes related to population mobility and regional settlement, migrations and population history, addressing the dynamics of permeable communities in their relationship with memory and local heritage, material as well as immaterial. This line therefore invites multidimensional and multidisciplinary reflections on the concept(s) of community and coexistence, and of fluid, diluted or absent borders. The evolution of the shared occupation of territories, emphasizing the connection of the population with the sea and the riverside areas, is another topic that requires emphasis and reflection in this line.
Environmental Change
The relationship between changes in value systems, cultural behaviours and environmental change, with particular emphasis on historical and social aspects, constitute the focus of reflection of this line of analysis. The “sustainable economy” concept, reflected in the emergence of new values, uses and relations of societies with the natural heritage, resulting from the depletion of resources and/or a different environmental awareness, is the order of the day. This motivates reflections on the past’s climatic, environmental and ecological transformations and the solutions found by contemporary communities in response to these transformations. Contributions are especially invited to reflect on environmental transformations and their relationship with aquatic environments. These interactions can be studied at macro scales, as in wider ocean dynamics, or at more micro scales, as in the articulations with coastlines and riverfronts.
Shifting Transitions
Diachronically, key moments are responsible for societal changes, creating new paradigms that generate new articulations between human groups and their environment. In the case of maritime and riverside areas, it is a constant process that alters how government(s) and public policies relate to populations. Some examples of these changes are demographic transformations, man-made (or driven) climate change, economic downturns, political and governance mutations and changes caused by evolving digital cultures, not forgetting access to (dis)information and the dissemination of knowledge. Contributors are invited to reflect on identifying these moments of change and their impacts at different scales and through different approaches.