There is currently a vast public thirst for understanding the historical dimensions of rapidly escalating environmental crises. At the same time, for historians there remains a tension between established models of knowledge production and transmission, and new modes and processes of knowledge sharing. These are not adequately recognised or rewarded by academia, especially, but are arguably essential in an era in which environmental knowledge is both increasingly contested in the public domain, and essential for a liveable future.
This prize seeks to encourage researchers to build public engagement into their projects from the outset. There is no restriction on the format of work submitted for the prize; judges will be able to evaluate and commend work in environmental history that engages the public through workshops, websites, audio-visual productions, popular publication, theatre or other forms of performance, visual arts collaboration, and mixed or multi-modal forms.
Eligible applicants include academics, independent scholars and practitioners resident anywhere in the world who have undertaken work in environmental history that includes a public engagement component.
The selection criteria for the prize might be developed around three key points:
• innovation in environmental history;
• evidence of public engagement;
• and contribution to public debate or understanding of a significant environmental issue.
Applying to the 2Bs Prize, applicants agree that their projects will be archived and published in a dedicated database in the ESEH website. The aim is to make visible and searchable the rich diversity of public environmental history projects that our community is fostering.
The template for the application is available here: template for the 2bs prize
Please, download the template, fill it out, and submit it to andrew.flack@bristol.ac.uk by 1 May 2023.
The winner will receive a monetary award of EUR 500 and the project will be presented at the ESEH conference in Bern on 22-26 August 2023.
The Bristol-Bern Prize in Public Environmental History (2Bs Prize)
Andy Flack, chair (University of Bristol)
Simona Boscani Leoni (Université de Lausanne)
Antonio Ortega Santos (Universidad de Granada)
Pablo DeSoto (LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial in Gijón)
Eleonora De Majo (PhD, activist)
Image: Photo by Shane Rounce on Unsplash