History
Ohio State University

Climate and Catastrophe:
The World Crisis of the 17th Century

Geoffrey Parker, Andreas Dorpalen Professor of History at Ohio State University, is a renowned scholar of early modern European social, political, and military history. A Fellow of the British Academy (the highest honor bestowed on a scholar of the humanities in Great Britain), he is the author of many books, including The Military Revolution: Military Innovation and the Rise of the West, 1500-1800 (1988) and The Grand Strategy of Philip II (1998). In 1992 the King of Spain named him Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella for his contributions to Spanish history. Parker has also received two Guggenheim Fellowships to support research on his forthcoming book, Climate and Catastrophe: The World Crisis of the 17th Century (Oxford 2007).

Climate and Catastrophe will bring new global and environmental perspectives to bear on the history of early modern Europe. Parker analyses the historical records and traces the ways in which dramatic climate changes of the 1640s precipitated a cascading series of violent social, economic, and political crises around the globe—from China to Europe to the New World colonies. Acutely relevant to current concerns about the human, economic, and political consequences of global warming, Parker’s research brings historical perspective to bear on current discussions and debates about environmental policies, international politics, and globalization. In his Katz Lecture, Parker will recount this history and probe its meaning for the present.

Kane Hall 110
Reception to follow in the Walker-Ames Room.

In conjunction with his Katz Lecture, Parker will teach a 4-day micro-seminar for graduate students on how to write history. Details