Workshop: ¿De quiénes son los ríos? – Who owns the rivers?

Water, Rights, and Agency in South America

On December 16, 2026, Arno Holl, currently a doctoral candidate at the Chair of Latin American History, will host a workshop focused on his dissertation project. His secondary examiner, Dr. Roxani Rivas Ruíz (Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana), will travel to Münster for his dissertation defense and will subsequently stay to help organize the workshop. The workshop will be held in English and take place in Room 7011 at the Käte-Hamburger-Kolleg in Münster (Servatiipl. 9, 48143).

The workshop is a collaboration between the University of Münster and the University of Bonn and is financially supported by the Centre for Empire Studies (CES). The aim is to explore new perspectives on the role of water in historical and contemporary South American societies, with a focus on Indigenous communities. Various presentations will provide insight into the unique relationship between humans and water, ranging from the pre-Spanish Orinoco Llanos to 17th- and 18th-century Argentina to the history of rivers in Chile and Peru. The academic perspectives include anthropology, archaeology, and history.

Registration information and a more detailed program will be provided in the near future.