Aarhus University Seal

Historical Narratives of Transformation:
Resources, Sustainability, and a Just Society

Aarhus University, Conference Center, 13-14 August 2025,
Richard Mortensen Room, Building 1422-122,
Fredrik Nielsens Vej 2, 8000 Aarhus C

Programme


Wednesday, 13 August 2025


9:00-9:30

Introduction


09.30-11.00

Narratives about Agriculture in Asia


Xiaoping Sun, Halifax, Canada
From Wilderness to Granary: Unpacking the Transformation Narrative of Beidahuang
Commentator: Maliene Kip

Shakila Yacob, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (with Caitlyn Sears and Sarah N. R. Wijesinghe)
Who Speaks for Palm Oil? Power, Narratives, and Decolonising the Global Debate
Commentator: Gemma Jennings


11.00-11.30

Coffee break


11.30-13.00

Mining Conflicts in Asia


Koustab Majumdar, Ranchi, India
Ecopolitics of Extractivism and the Development Paradox: Indigenous Struggles in India’s Jharkhand
Commentator: Luis Melendez

Witali Gerber, Dresden, Germany
From Extraction to Conflict: The Panguna Mine and Its Legacy in Bougainville and the Pacific
Commentator: Xiaoping Sun


13.00-14.00

Lunch


14.00-15.30

Land Transformation in Indonesia


Gregorius Ariwibowo and Harry Ganjar Budiman, Jakarta, Indonesia
Colonial Railways and Deforestation in Southern Sumatra, Indonesia (1895-1930)
Commentator: Camila Moraga
 

Maliene Kip, Eindhoven, Netherlands
Entangled Oils: Land, Law, and the Interwoven Histories of Indonesian Coconut and Palm Oil 1910-1960
Commentator: Shakila Yakob


15.30-16.00

Coffee break


16.00-17.30

Global Resources and its Colonial Legacies


Gemma Jennings, Birmingham, UK
Pipelines and Profits: Colonial Continuities in Algeria’s Sustainable Energy Transition
Commentator: Jíra Janáč

Maite van den Borre, Utrecht, Netherlands
Unearthing the Past: Colonial Legacies and the Modern Realities of Tin Mining in Bangka and Belitung    
Commentator: Witali Gerber


19.00

Dinner (Madklubben, Hack Kampmanns Plads 1, harbor promenade)


Thursday, 14 August 2025


09.00-10.30

Environmentalisms and its Understanding


Jíra Janáč, Prag, Czech Republic
Quiet or Silenced? Attempts to globalise Eastern European environmentalism in early 1990s
Commentator: Stathis Arapostathis

Rithma Kreie Engelbreth Larsen, Aarhus, Denmark
IPBES and the multiple voices of nature: ‘Ecosystem services’ and ‘Mother Earth’ in epistemic friction
Commentator: Kumar Prakash


10.30-11.00

Coffee break


11.00-12.30

Colonial Experiences and Narratives from South America


Luis Melendez, London, Canada
Extractivism beyond extraction: Mining donations in an artisanal mining settlement in the Peruvian Andes
Commentator: Maite van den Borre

Camila Moraga and Renato D’Alençon Castrillón, Santiago, Chile
Between resources extraction and conservation: Federico Albert and the re-configuration of the Chilean territory in early 20th century
Commentator: Gregorius Ariwibowo


12.30-13.30

Lunch


13.30-15.00

Productivism in India and Greece


Prakash Kumar, Pennsylvania State University, USA
Colonial Famines, Global Actors, and the Development of a Productivist Narrative in India
Commentator: Koustab Majumdar

Yannis Foutopoulos, Sotiris Alexakis, and Stathis Arapostathis, Athens
Vulnerable pendulum: Agriculture amid Productivism, Water Scarcity and Climate Change in the region of Thessaly, Greece (1950-2025)
Commentator: Rithma K. E. Larsen


15.00-15.30

Coffee break


15.30-16.30

Final discussion



Conference organizers

Matthias Heymann, Aarhus University, Denmark
Shakila Yacob, Sunway University, Malaysia
Prakash Kumar, Pennsylvania State University, USA


Funding

Aarhus University Research Foundation, Project “Towards sustainability of global resources, fair trade and global justice? Experiences, challenges and narratives of transformation”.