INVITATION TO THE SEMINAR SERIES
THE HISTORY OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF POLICY MAKING

Deindustrialisation and the environment
Conversation with Steven High

December 11, 2025 – 4:00 p.m.

CNR-ISMed
Humanities Centre (6th floor)
Via Cardinale Guglielmo Sanfelice 8
Naples

REMOTE ACCESS
on the Teams platform

Poster

As an interdisciplinary field of research, studies on deindustrialisation have focused primarily on the transformations of the working class and the rise of right-wing populism in deindustrialised areas, rather than on its environmental impact. At the same time, environmental historians have rarely addressed deindustrialisation. The exchange between environmental historians and scholars of deindustrialisation has therefore been limited, although this is slowly changing.

Steven High will talk about some of the intersections between environmental issues and the theoretical framework of deindustrialisation, from Sherry Lee Linkon’s “half-life” to Alice Mah’s concept of “harmful deindustrialisation”, as well as older concepts such as “brownfield” and “just transition”. The issue of “labour versus environment”, typical of the 1970s and 1980s and which reverberates in the present, will also be discussed.

THE SPEAKER. Steven High is a professor of history at Concordia University’s Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling, where he directs the transnational research project “Deindustrialisation and Contemporary Politics” (deindustrialization.org). He is the author of numerous books and articles on the structural violence of mass displacement.

Programme

SPEAKER
Steven High
Concordia University

INTRODUCTION AND MODERATOR
Valerio Caruso
CNR-ISMed

FINAL DISCUSSION

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
Alessandro Agosta, Valerio Caruso, Gabriella Corona, Giovanni Ferrarese, Gabriella Rago (CNR-ISMed)

INFO AND CONTACTS
valerio.caruso@ismed.cnr.it
www.ismed.cnr.it
www.storiaambientale.it

HOW TO PARTICIPATE
The seminar is open to the public, subject to availability.
It is possible to participate remotely via the Teams platform