Verticality in Spatial History

What can vertical perspectives add to spatial history? Whether concerned with the spread of epidemic disease or patterns of mobility, spatial historians are used to conceiving of space in horizontal terms. This is in line with a broader intellectual trend: with the rise of global history, historians have continuously expanded the spatial scope of their studies in a horizontal movement. In recent decades, however, a growing body of literature has begun to discuss the history of human intervention in the atmosphere and outer space in a distinctly vertical dynamic. Drawing on ongoing research on the use of digital elevation models and on the emergence of early modern “air law”, this talk will discuss the interest and limitations of vertical approaches to early modern spatial history.

Luca Scholz is a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow with Stanford’s Spatial History Project and a lecturer in the Department of History. He holds a PhD in History from the European University Institute, a joint MA in History from the École des hautes études en sciences sociales in Paris and the University of Heidelberg, as well as BA in Economics from that same university. In addition to his first book, Porous Order. Safe-Conduct and the Enclosure of Movement (forthcoming with Oxford University Press), Luca has published English, German, French, and Italian articles on spatial history and the history of passports, freedom of movement, and serfdom.

Date
Thu January 31st 2019, 5:00 - 7:00pm
Location
Archaeology Center
Event Sponsor
Archaeology Center
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