Reply To: 11. Oct 26: From natural to cultural landscapes

Reflection on From natural to cultural landscapes with Valentina Caracuta

How can we learn from and interact with other disciplines? In some cases it is not a difficult task, as long as we use more or less the same methods we understand how to approach the issue and what questions to ask in order to start getting to know. Other disciplines are harder, for me who have studied social sciences and humanities it is hard to understand what my friend the astrophycisist is doing. Understanding archeologists is something in between. I understand more or less and recognize the field, but I do not have enough knowledge to really validate the research or have opinions about the methods. I just have to trust that the methods, analysis and results are valid. At the same time I feel that this is something that I lack if I want to be an environmental historian. Valentina addresses the need of social science in her work , to analyse the meaning of the findings. At the same time I do not really see clearly how I can participate in that. Somehow I feel a need for more knowledge about how I as a social science/humanities researcher can approach and study the findings of natural sciences and make meaning of that.