In recent years, natural resources have become a crucial concern and received increasing political attention. The European Research network “Challenging Europe: Technology, environment and the quest for resource security” (EURES) aims to develop an innovative, transnational research framework for the historical investigation of natural resource challenges in Europe in the period 2018 to 2021. It will focus on resource perceptions and imaginaries, resource geographies and global resource chains and cycles, resource technologies and policies and the environmental, social and political impacts of resource extraction and use in a transnational perspective.

This workshop serves as a kick-off event of the network and has a dual function. A first part it will serve for discussing research themes, research methodologies and research agendas to be developed collaboratively in the next years. This part will consist of few broader input talks and focus on work and discussion. Particularly welcome to this part are proposals outlining important research themes or directions, plans for the development of collaborative research proposals etc. Particular emphasis is put on transnational perspectives and collaborative approaches.

A second part serves the discussion of perceptions and constructions of resources, resource crises and resource futures, which is a first major research theme of the research network. As important as the material and physical manifestations of resource regimes and its changes in time are its intellectual and ideological implications. The perceptions and the politics of natural resources depend on local experiences and discourses of resources and social constructions of resource knowledge. A range of scientific approaches served for the representation and objectivization of natural resources including resource statistics, inventories, predictions and projections on a global scale. This part has a focus on the Arctic, but also invites contributions to other regions.

Proposals are welcome, which address intellectual and ideological underpinnings of resource perceptions, visions and policies of extracting actors and stakeholders as well as of local people. Particularly welcome are contributions putting the Arctic and other areas in a comparative perspective. Key questions comprise the following: Which perceptions and imaginaries of natural resources and of resource scarcity, criticality and crisis existed in European societies and institutions? Which scientific approaches such as resource statistics, inventories, predictions and projections served the discursive construction of resources? How did resource challenges, scarcity experiences and exploitation relations shape perceptions and discourses as well as regional and national identities both in Europe and beyond? Which national and transnational actors and contexts contributed to the construction of resources and resource visions and futures? To what extent did resource perceptions, policies, technologies and problems contribute to the construction of ideas about Europe? Which future research in these topics is needed?

The EURES network is part of the Tensions of Europe Research Group on Technologies, Environment and Resources (see: https://www.tensionsofeurope.eu/technology-environment-and-resources/) and is open to all interested scholars. Please send proposals for contributions of ca. 200 words and a CV to matthias.heymann@css.au.dk. The deadline is 23 September 2018. Travel and accommodation of contributors will be funded. Decisions will be taken and a program be circulated in early October.