We’re delighted to announce the relaunch of the European Coffee Hour sessions, now hosted by Amrita Kaur Slatch.

As well as being an LRG member, Amrita is a Doctoral Candidate at RWTH Aachen University, Germany, where her research explores co-constructive understandings of post-mining landscapes through case studies in Germany and India. She is particularly interested in pluriversal design approaches for extractive regions, and her work reflects the kind of interdisciplinary spirit that makes landscape research such a rich and challenging field.

The Coffee Hour sessions were created to help counter the sense of isolation that research can sometimes bring, something many of us felt even more keenly during the Covid restrictions. Landscape studies, with their interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches, can also present unique challenges, as methods don’t always fit neatly into one academic department.

These monthly gatherings are designed as a friendly, informal space for LRG members to connect over coffee, virtually via Zoom. Each session is usually led by someone in the group who shares part of their research, raises a methodological or thematic question, or talks through an issue they are working on, whether that’s data collection, analysis, or framing.

Amrita intently listening to Prof. Mark Connelly on the importance of Dunkirk in the Second World War, LRG Critical Field Study-Dunkirk, Oct 2023 Dunkirk. Photo credit: Anna Lena Hahn
Amrita with a village community affected by mine expansion, Jhulundia Jharkhand, March 2024. Photo credit: Anmol Prakash

When asked why she wanted to be involved with the Coffee Hour, Amrita said:

“I wanted a regular, warm space to learn from the lively ‘chaos’ of others’ research. Facilitating LRG Coffee Hour creates that, and the result is what I call “research serendipity”!

We’re excited to welcome her as host and look forward to the conversations, connections and ideas that will emerge in the months ahead.

  • The first relaunched session will be on Thursday, 2nd October, at 3pm BST 
  • Open to all postgraduate landscape researchers and practitioners.
 
Although the sessions are scheduled for the European timezone, participants are welcome to join from anywhere. We hope they will also be convenient for LRG members across Africa and parts of western Asia. For those in the Americas, Zannah Matson hosts monthly sessions in that timezone. In addition, Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking participants may wish to join the sessions run from Brazil by Geovana Freitas Paim Rêgo.


For more information on the European Coffee network and to join our mailing list for future meeting updates, please click below.

Interested in starting your own network with LRG’s support? We would love to hear from you!