image: © Météo-France
Forecasting the weather, between divination and science (antiquity to the present)
Call for Papers deadline – 31 May 2026
Societies have long desired to protect themselves from meteorological and climatic hazards, prompting the development of diverse predictive procedures. From ancient ‘weather signs’ to astrology to numerical weather prediction, the history of weather forecasting is a story of epistemological rupture corresponding with recurring crises of legitimacy. This ambitious global and interdisciplinary conference is the first to consider the history of weather forecasting from antiquity to the present. We invite participants to consider forecasting through cultural, economic, environmental, political, and social lenses. How was ‘success’ conceptualised and measured? How did it become possible to distinguish ‘forecasting’ and ‘divination’?
This conference is organised by Simon Dolet and Michelle Pfeffer.
For further information, please follow this link.
Date: 9 October 2026
Location: University of Oxford, UK
The deadline for proposals is 31 May 2026.