Public conference as part of the search for a professor in Human Geography

Summary: Following water provides a robust analytical entry point to examine how socio-ecological territories are produced and transformed in practice. Rivers, irrigation systems, dams and water projects make visible the assemblages through which social relations, technical infrastructures, legal frameworks and land arrangements are negotiated and reconfigured. Attention to access to and control over water allows a fine-grained analysis of tensions, controversies and power asymmetries accompanying environmental transformation. Territorial change emerges not as an abstract outcome, but as a situated and contested process shaped by hydrological dynamics, institutional configurations and social practices. Conceptualising water as an inherently social and political object offers a coherent framework for analysing socio-ecological transformations and fostering dialogue across the geosciences.