A presentation of the book "Entire of itself? Towards an Environmental History of Islands" will take place on Wednesday, October 30, 2024 in amphitheater 200.2 of the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences (Moufia Campus), starting at 17:00 p.m., in the presence of Philippe Holstein, Pablo Corral Broto and Karine Girard (BU Droit-Lettres).

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Summary

The study of islands is booming. No wonder: islands have played a key role in the history of continents, have been crucial sites for the creation of states, have served as sites for dictatorships’ penal systems, and have served as frontiers and stepping stones for empires. However, the role that island environments have played in creating and shaping these histories has so far received little attention. To understand why an island became a penal colony, an atomic testing site, or a tourist destination, we need to look closely
the particularities of its environment: its physical shape, its geology, its climate, its flora and fauna, and its position in relation to other places. And to better understand an island's place in history, we must consider the different ways in which it has been perceived, used, valued or rejected, protected or mistreated over time.

Through fourteen stories of islands and archipelagos from around the world, Entire of Itself? Towards an Environmental History of Islands presents islands as dynamic entities that shape and are shaped by history. Spanning periods from antiquity to the present, Entire of Itself? attempts to provide a group portrait of this unique category of places in the context of environmental history. Exploring the interwoven temporal, material, and identity layers of island environments, as well as their transformations in response to human efforts at conservation, exploitation, and experimentation, the contributions in this volume challenge the traditional center-periphery perspective and instead adopt an island-centric approach, delving into both the islands’ own stories and their role in broader historical developments.