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This conference is concerned with exploring the impact of climate on social and historical events in the United States. The leading goal is to open a dialogue on the complementary research of climatologists and historians. In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in the study of climate-history relationships ranging from human perception of climate to techniques of climate reconstruction based on documentary records. Some recent activities of the relatively small number of investigators working in this arena include several conferences such as "Calibration of Historical Data for Paleoclimatic Reconstruction" held in Barcelona, Spain in 1998, the "Second International Climate and History Conference" held in Norwich, U.K. also in 1998, and the "Workshop on Reconstructing Climate Variability from Historical Sources and other Proxy Records" in Manzanillo, Mexico just last year. Among many new topics for interdisciplinary research are human responses in the past to severe drought, tropical cyclones, and climate-linked epidemic disease, as well as the role of extreme weather on specific historical events. The conference will open on the evening of May 24 with a public, keynote address from Dr. David Stahle, a University of Arkansas climatologist known widely for his North American tree ring research aimed at long-term, climate reconstruction. His seminal studies include findings relevant to the early English colonies at Roanoke and Jamestown. A day-long program of research presentations is scheduled for Friday, May 25; a list of these presentations is included below. The format will include question and answer periods following the 20-minute papers. The sessions will be open to scholars and the interested public. On May 26, optional tours of local historical sites like Colonial Williamsburg, and Jamestown Island will be offered. This conference took place in May 2001. If you have questions, do not hesitate to contact Joe B. Jones by phone (757-221-1581) or email: jbjone@wm.edu. Joe B. Jones |
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