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Project

Human-environment interactions in Flemish floodplains since the late 18th century

This is one of two interdisciplinary PhD positions within a project that aims at providing a long-term reconstruction of human-environment interactions in floodplains in Flanders. During this project the various direct and indirect human interventions in three case study floodplain sites will be mapped by combining an archaeological, historic and geographical analysis. The goal of this PhD is to analyse how human societies through time have responded towards changes in the floodplain environment, whereby particular attention will be paid to rural communities. The time-depth analysis of past human-environment interactions in floodplains will learn us 1) how the present-day cultural palimpsest landscape came about and to which time period specific landscape features can be traced back, but also 2) how resilient the use and management of floodplains has evolved through time. This should allow us to better manage and preserve our cultural heritage within floodplains and to better assess the robustness of floodplain use and sustainable management in future. Chronologically, this position will focus on the early modern and modern period, with a special focus on 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The PhD-researcher will make use of a wide range of written sources, produced and formed by several actors, and includes among others census data, historical maps, images, official and private archival records, but also oral histories recorded through depth-interviews.

Date:1 Nov 2019 →  1 Nov 2023
Keywords:floodplainscapes
Disciplines:Landscape and ecological history
Project type:PhD project