Science
Conferences
Free
Oil and Empire
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12:00
Date:
Location:
Vienna and Krakow
Partner:
Austrian Cooperation Office Lviv, Ukraine Office Austria, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austrian Consulate General Krakow, Eurasian Transformation, Austrian Science Fund
Organizer:
Research Institute Brenner Archive, University of Innsbruck
reframing Galicia in the global history of petroleum
From April 14 to 17, 2026, the international conference
“Oil and Empire: Historical, Cultural, and Political Dimensions of Petroleum in Galicia and Beyond” will take place in Vienna and Krakow.
The conference addresses a significant gap in petrofiction and energy humanities scholarship, which has largely focused on Anglophone contexts. It aims to reposition Galicia as a crucial yet overlooked site in the cultural and historical development of the global oil industry. Bringing together scholars from environmental humanities, literary studies, and imperial history, the event explores how petroleum extraction has shaped societies, imaginaries, and narratives.
Venues:
— Vienna, Austrian Academy of Sciences (historic Postal Savings Bank building)
— Krakow, Austrian General Consulate
Programme highlights
- Keynote by Alison Frank (Harvard University) on the Galician oil industry as an “Austrian El Dorado”
- Panels on early uses of oil, from Byzantine “Greek fire” to Persian traditions
- Discussions on oil and modernity, imperial imaginaries, and Soviet literature
- Sessions dedicated to Galicia as “European California” and oil hub (e.g., Boryslav)
- Literary performance “The Gulf of the Américas. Lyrik in Öl” in Vienna
- Excursion to the Oil and Gas Industry Museum in Bóbrka
- Final panel on oil in world literature and petrofiction
The conference also includes a symbolic journey between Vienna and Krakow, tracing the historical geography of oil in Central Europe.