Workshop: Trees in Thought and in History: From Eden to Scientific Diagrams
This one-day workshop aims to engage with the environmental turn within humanistic and theological research by focusing on one specific and central environmental object; the tree. The aim is to involve PhD-students and other early career researchers with invited researchers specialising in the subject in discussions on the tree from several different perspectives and time-periods, but with a specific focus on cultural, historical and religious aspects of trees.
The seminar will be split into three sessions with each session including three presentations of twenty minutes, each followed by a shared thirty minutes of questions and discussion with an invited discussant. Session 1 will explore early Christian and ancient notions of trees, examining their symbolic, spiritual, and ecological roles in antiquity and the medieval period. Session 2 will focus on early modern perceptions of trees, examining their cultural, scientific, and philosophical significance. Session 3 will address modern and/or non-Western notions of trees, highlighting diverse perspectives on their environmental, social, and religious meanings.
Programme:
9.00 - Pre-Seminar Tea and Coffee
9.30 - Opening Remarks
9.45 - Keynote Speaker - Thomas Arentzen, co-author of Byzantine Tree Life and lead researcher of Beyond the Garden: An Ecocritical Approach to Early Byzantine Christianity.
10.20 - Break for Coffee
10.30 - Session 1 (Preliminary title) Ancient and Medieval Trees
12.00 - Break for Lunch
13.00 - Session 2:(Preliminary title) Early Modern Trees
14.30 - Break for Coffee
14.45 - Session 3 (Preliminary title) Modern and Contemporary Trees
16.15 - Concluding remarks
16.30 - Post-Seminar Reception hosted at Privacy
17.30 - End of the Research Seminar
Registration: Please register here no later than 17 August 2026
Include a title of your intended presentation, a brief abstract (150-250 words) and bio (50-100 words) in your application to the workshop. As the aim of the workshop is to create discussions and inspirations for further collaborations the abstract can represent anything from a finished idea to a conceptual sketch.
Language: English
Further information: For more information about the PhD course, please contact the PhD Administration phd@hrsc.ku.dk or the organizers Viktor vwr@teol.ku.dk or Søren sfj@teol.ku.dk.