Program

February 11, 14:30–16:00: Public Lecture + Q&A

Speaker: Giacomo Parrinello, Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt, Institute for Social Ecology

Abstract: Is it possible to measure effectively the river flow? And how? Around the mid-nineteenth century, such questions occupied the mind of hydrologists and engineers in Europe and North America. This talk analyzes how these questions were asked and answered in the Po watershed, from nineteenth century experiments to the establishment of a state hydrographic service during World War I. The Po River system, far from being a passive object of knowledge, played an active role in this history. From the early experimental measurements of discharge, hydrography evolved into constant basin-wide monitoring in the repeated attempt to overcome the river system’s hydro-climatic complexity and resistance to prediction. While basin-wide monitoring did not accomplish the goals of nineteenth century hydrologists, the constantly updated quantitative representations of the watershed it delivered would prove key to water management and engineering, making hydrography a strategic articulation of state rule over water resource development.

February 12, 10:00–12:00: Workshop

The members of the Working Group will convene with the guest speaker (and anyone else interested) for a more in-depth discussion of the challenges of analyzing judgements.

The guest speakers address the various, occasionally unexpected ways judgements have been understood, validated, and acted upon by historical actors. Of particular relevance is here the analysis of matters of objectivity, subjectivity, and reliability and of how these relate to the production of judgements in a variety of fields of inquiry.