# Event Details - **Event Name**: Finding Common Ground: An Interdisciplinary Symposium on Soil - **Event Start and End Date**: Thu, 09 Jul, 2026 at 09:00 am – Fri, 10 Jul, 2026 at 05:00 pm - **Event Description**: This two-day symposium is part of a series of events exploring current soil-focussed research from a range of disciplinary perspectives.About this EventPrevious events have brought together researchers from different disciplinary backgrounds, encouraging attendees to share their research on the topic of soil, identifying areas of synergy and forging connections to allow for future collaboration.The Finding Common Ground symposium continues this work, and has four key aims:Offer soil researchers the opportunity to network with a view to forging future collaborations;Offer soil researchers the opportunity to share their research with an international audience;Introduce researchers to new perspectives on soil that enrich their own practice;Demonstrate the value of interdisciplinary working in environmental research.We also hope that this event will lay the foundations for an interdisciplinary soil network that enables conversations on soil across disciplines.Our Keynote speakers have experience undertaking interdisciplinary research in soil:Dr Jim Scown (School of English, University of Exeter)'The Social gets into the Soil: The Politics and Poetics of Soil Health'Dr Anna Krzywoszynska (Faculty of Humanities, University of Oulu)The programme for the symposium is still being compiled, and will include short 20 min papers from 12 soil researchers: Science, English Literature, History, Archaeology, creative practitioners, and more.You can find the programme for both days at the bottom of this page and on the Symposium webpage.BackgroundSoil is a part of our environment. It forms the ground that we walk on, although in an urban setting, soil is rarely left exposed: it is covered with paving stones to form paths, or seeded with grass and confined to flower beds in a city park. As such, soil is our foundation, but it is also often forgotten. We tend to leave it beneath our feet, without thinking much about it until the path gets muddy. Then, our shoes become undesirably encased in mud: it gets in the ridges of our shoes, dirties the carpet, before it is vacuumed up and disposed of. Soil is base: it is at the bottom quite literally (on the ground) but also figuratively (something dirty, to be removed).It is also base in the sense that it is foundational: it is out of soil that all plant matter grows, including the food we eat. Without our base of soil, neither the human nor the more-than-human would survive. It is little wonder that the earth has long been conceptualised as ‘mother’ across the globe. And in the face of developing climate catastrophe, soil will become more vital than ever: the UK’s soil association has suggested that ‘without healthy soils, we can’t tackle the climate crisis’.As with previous events and with the intention of our network in mind, this symposium aims to bring together researchers from across disciplines working broadly on the subject of soil. We hope to create productive contact zones between different areas of research that will allow for fruitful discussions and potential collaboration.ContactIf you have any questions, please contact the organisers: Meg Meredith (mbp05mel@sheffield.ac.uk) and Emily Naish (ejnaish1@sheffield.ac.uk).Day 1?: 09:30 AM - 10:00 AMRegistration?: 10:00 AM - 10:15 AMWelcome & Housekeeping?: 10:15 AM - 11:15 AMKeynote Opening Talk and Q&AHost: Dr Jim ScownInfo: 'The Social gets into the Soil: The Politics and Poetics of Soil Health'?: 11:15 AM - 11:45 AMBreak?: 11:45 AM - 12:45 PMPanel 1: Human-soil EntanglementsHost: Indigo GrayInfo: 'Désirée’s compost heap: decomposition, fertility and disgust in Émile Zola’s The Sin of Abbé Mouret' (Indio Gray) 'Soil health: quantification and care' (Tiago Moreira) 'Seeding new earths in the Harrisons’ Future Gardens' (Harry Salisbury)?: 12:45 PM - 01:45 PMLunch & Networking?: 01:45 PM - 02:45 PMPanel 2: Lively LandscapesHost: Becky Little & Tom MortonInfo: 'Parliament of Soils - Giving earth a voice' (Becky Little & Tom Morton) 'Between the Bog and the Cloud: Data Entanglements and the Materiality of Peatland Ecology' (Miranda Whall) 'Soil’s Frozen Other: Maintaining Life on the Arctic Permafrost' (Anastasiya Halauniova)?: 02:45 PM - 03:15 PMBreak?: 03:15 PM - 04:15 PMPanel 3: Preserving MemoryHost: Helen BassonInfo: 'Archival Soil: Tracing Conflict and Regeneration in the Red Zones of the Somme' (Helen Basson) 'What Remains: Soil, Decay, and the Archaeology of Death' (Iseabail Wilks) 'Writing with Peat: Queerness, Materiality, & Method' (Charlotte Hunt)?: 04:15 PM - 04:45 PMClosing Discussion?: 04:45 PM - 05:00 PMSummary and Close?: 07:00 PM - 09:00 PMSymposium DinnerDay 2?: 09:30 AM - 10:00 AMRegistration?: 10:00 AM - 10:15 AMWelcome & Housekeeping?: 10:15 AM - 11:15 AMKeynote Opening Talk and Q&AHost: Dr Anna KrzywoszynskaInfo: 'Speaking for soil, speaking with soil: crafting a common language for soil research and action'?: 11:15 AM - 11:45 AMBreak?: 11:45 AM - 12:45 PMPanel 4: Paying AttentionHost: Joshua ZeunertInfo: 'Observing Continental-Scale Agricultural Soil Degradation' (Joshua Zeunert) 'Shakespearean Soil Imaginaries: Creative Encounters with Climate Emergencies' (Liz Oakley-Brown) 'The Quiet Loss of Tropical Peatlands: Subsidence and Groundwater Beneath the Surface' (Resti Salmayenti)?: 12:45 PM - 01:45 PMLunch & Networking?: 01:45 PM - 02:30 PMPanel 5: Soil FuturesHost: Yu Zhao (Ella)Info: 'Earthworms as Biological Indicators of Soil Health in Agricultural Soils' (Yu Zhao (Ella)) 'Buried in Time: Unearthing Michael Drayton’s Future Thinking Rising up and looking down: repurposing cartography into poetry' (Emily Naish) 'From stardust to sustainability: regenerating arable soil health for people and the planet.' (Jonathan Leake)?: 02:30 PM - 03:00 PMBreak?: 03:00 PM - 03:30 PMClosing Discussion?: 03:30 PM - 03:45 PMSummary and Close - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/sheffield-city-centre/finding-common-ground-an-interdisciplinary-symposium-on-soil/100001981326188967 - **Event Categories**: health-wellness, art, literary-art, science-fair - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 0 - **Event Highlights**: - Duration: 8 hours - Location: Sir Frederick Mappin Building - Mappin Hall - Languages: English ## Ticket Details - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 0, max: 0, currency: GBP ## Event venue details - **city**: Sheffield City Centre - **state**: EN - **country**: United Kingdom - **location**: Sir Frederick Mappin Building - Mappin Hall - **lat**: 53.3813965 - **long**: -1.4793321 - **full address**: Sir Frederick Mappin Building - Mappin Hall, Mappin Street, Sheffield City Centre, United Kingdom ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: Finding Common Ground: An Interdisciplinary Symposium on Soil - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events5/banners/de8b57e09c3a4f16052044aa00c6353ab03e9cfea0fa67069729d7bb2b8d7d05-rimg-w1200-h600-dc00d07c-gmir.jpg?v=1770983374 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is Finding Common Ground: An Interdisciplinary Symposium on Soil being held? - **A:** Finding Common Ground: An Interdisciplinary Symposium on Soil takes place on Thu, 09 Jul, 2026 at 09:00 am to Fri, 10 Jul, 2026 at 05:00 pm at Sir Frederick Mappin Building - Mappin Hall, Mappin Street, Sheffield City Centre, United Kingdom. - **Q**: Who is organizing Finding Common Ground: An Interdisciplinary Symposium on Soil? - **A:** Finding Common Ground: An Interdisciplinary Symposium on Soil is organized by Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures/MSc Science Communication Programme at The University of Sheffield. - **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me? - **A:** Finding Common Ground: An Interdisciplinary Symposium on Soil is ideal for art lovers, collectors, creatives, and anyone inspired by visual arts, installations, and exhibitions. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in Sheffield City Centre, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. 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