“Vengeance is mine; I will repay. Kleist, Kohlhaas, and the quest for justice” by Sean Allan

On Wednesday 14 May, Sean Allan from Warwick University gave a comprehensive introductory lecture to Michael Kohlhaas and to the background of its author, Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist. Pointing out the paradoxical subtleties within the character of Kohlhaas, Sean Allan warned against one-sided readings of the novella’s plot, which regard the character as either a

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ECLA Annual Conference – Student Project: Water Fund

During the Annual Conference, projects initiated by students complemented the theoretical framework generated by the guest lectures and the seminars offered by ECLA professors. Such a project, initiated by ECLA student Cholpon Degenbaeva (Kyrgyzstan), under the guidance of the ECLA professor Rafael Ziegler, had as its goal research and proposals which would go into the

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ECLA Annual Conference Lecture: Petra Dobner on ‘Crossing the Jordan: Global Water and Transnational Constitutionalism’

On Friday 9 May Dr. Petra Dobner visited ECLA to deliver a guest lecture, ‘Crossing the Jordan: Global Water and Transnational Constitutionalism’, as part of Annual Conference. It was fitting that Dr. Dobner’s lecture should be the last of the Annual Conference series, as it served to bring together many aspects of water addressed throughout

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ECLA Annual Conference Lecture: Tony Allan on ‘Global systems enable local security: virtual water – the water, food and trade nexus brings water security and sustainability’

ECLA was particularly honoured to receive Tony Allan to deliver a Annual Conference lecture. Just over a month before his arrival, Professor Allan was awarded the 2008 Water Laureate prize by the Stockholm Water Committee for his ‘pioneering and long lasting work in education and raising the awareness internationally of interdisciplinary relationships between agricultural production,

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ECLA Annual Conference Lecture: David Blackbourn on ‘Conquest and Conservation: German Waterlands since 1750’

On Tuesday 6th May ECLA hosted Professor David Blackbourn as part of the Annual Conference on Water. Blackbourn’s lecture, entitled ‘Conquest and Conservation: German Waterlands since 1750’ drew largely on his recent book, The Conquest of Nature: Water, Landscape, and the Making of Modern Germany (2006), a broad-ranging and fascinating history of Germany’s ‘battle’ with

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