History of water

The EU aims to provide elements for building a historical framework and analyzing archives on water management.

It covers the history of water management models, the history of hydraulic engineers and hydraulics, and the social and political history of water management in the Latin American country of Ecuador.

It also presents the departmental archive system.

• Know the history of hydrology and hydraulics,
• Acquire knowledge of historical water theories,
• Learn how to work with archives,
• Create a historical narrative.

Oral presentation of the TD and PowerPoint presentation.

The week begins with three presentations on the history of water management models (T. Ruf), the history of hydraulic engineers and hydraulics (S. Lanau) and the social and political history of water management in the Latin American country of Ecuador.

A presentation of the departmental archive system will be given, then, after the formation of TD groups, work on reading, analyzing documents and constructing a historical narrative will take place over two and a half days. There will be a mid-term follow-up with the supervisors. On Friday morning, each group will present its story to the rest of the class, and a final discussion will close the week. The form of the restitution may vary from group to group, but the principle is to have all group members participate orally supported́ by a PowerPoint presentation. Role-playing is often adequate, but other options are possible.

Examples of TD 2020 groups:

• Group A: In the Ardèche region of France, the Bourges valley is affected by a conflict over riverside urban planning. Reconstruct the history of the floods, their impact, and the reactions of local residents and government services.
• Group B: In Morocco, the population of Fez revolted in 1930 when the Protectorate's water administration decided to change the city's entire drinking water system, including the Medina.
• Group C: In 1865, Napoleon III promulgated the law creating associations syndicales. It was intended to apply in Algeria, but the colonial administration questioned its relevance.