Research

The way in which people participate in transformative processes is one of the key aspects for our understanding of past and present societies and their living environments. Resources play a crucial role within these processes, as they are interwoven in many ways with the practical and cognitive constructions of societies. Resources, their acquisition and social appropriation keep societies in motion, whether we consider them as prerequisites, in a broader sense as affordances within human practices, or as a projection surface for desires and ideologies. ReForm aims in particular to investigate the transformative potential of resources and the processes that lead to substantial socio-ecological transformations in human history.

ReForm takes a multivocal perspective on how humans are interwoven with their materialised environment through various practices and how social institutions emerge and change during these processes. An interdisciplinary approach involving the social and cultural sciences (e.g. archaeology, history, sociology and anthropology), natural sciences (e.g. geosciences, materials sciences and engineering) and economics is essential for researching the transformative potential of resources and the resulting social transformations.