The human body has always been exposed and attuned to weather. Whereas earlier approaches saw weather and health holistically\u2013\u2013drawing connections between physical and mental well-being and illness and meteorological conditions\u2013\u2013, present-day attention tends to focus more narrowly on extremes, such as heavy pollution or severe weather events worsened by climate change, such as heatwaves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The historical attentiveness to the body\u2019s immersion in and porosity to surrounding atmospheres was grounded in a different conception of the body and its environment, shaped by humoral theory and (neo-)Hippocratic medicine. Today, in order to conceptualize the sensitivity of bodies and souls for meteorological events, we are left with marginalized fields such as “human bio-meteorology” and statistical surveys of “weather sensitivity” or “seasonal affective disorder” with little impact on medical practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reconstructing the history of the meteorological body<\/em> is not only worthwhile in practical terms, but resonates with contemporary theoretical debates around immersion, transcorporeality, bodily entanglement, and (feminist) new materialism. In an era of air pollution and extreme weather, the “weathered” nature of human experience is drawing renewed attention, underscoring the increasing impact of weather-related illnesses and fatalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bringing together expertise from across history, anthropology, geography, literary studies, philosophy, and the history of science, the workshop investigates the multidimensionality and heterogeneity of the meteorological body<\/em> in its historical depth and cultural breadth. It examines how weather shapes human health and well-being and aims at reconstructing the historical and cultural frameworks that once sustained the intensive link between meteorological and physical states. It also asks how bodies today are imagined in relation to weather, and what political and social implications these understandings carry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On a more general level, we expect the conference to advance our understanding of neglected aspects of human\u2013climate relations and to make a substantial contribution to the emerging field of the atmospheric humanities<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This workshop is organized by Eva Horn<\/a> and Maximilian Hepach<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nParticipants<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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