You are warmly invited to the upcoming RIHN Seminar:

Date:	October 20th, 2016 (Thursday) 15:00 - 17:00
Place:	Seminar room 3&4, RIHN( → Access)
Lecturer:	Dr. Sander van der Leeuw (Arizona State University/Invited Scholar RIHN)
Series title:	From fieldwork to systems thinking in contemporary environmental studies
Seminar title:	Exploring historical tipping points: The Rhône Valley
Language:	English
Series abstract:	One challenge in the study of global environmental change is that it manifests itself differently in every place where we (can) study it. Yet to learn from this study and propose solutions to environmental problems we must compare and contrast these case studies to see if there are more general lessons to be learned. In this lecture series I will discuss various approaches to comparative environmental studies, and so to distill general insights from such case studies.
No2. abstract:	This lecture consists of two parts. The first will compare two different crises that affected the Comtat Venaissin in France a century apart (1860’s and 1970’s). The fieldwork done there is essentially geographical and historical, but a systemic perspective sheds an interesting light on how systems can avoid, or be pushed across, tipping points. The second case takes 5500 municipalities in Southern France and studies their development over two centuries. On the basis of statistical comparisons, a dynamic model can be created that indicates which of the municipalities will grow, which will not, and in which cases some subsidies could help tip the balance in a positive way.
Contact:	Dr. Daniel Niles