Friedrich Cain, Bernhard Kleeberg (eds.) A New Organon: Science Studies in Interwar Poland

Friedrich Cain, Bernhard Kleeberg (eds.) A New Organon: Science Studies in Interwar Poland. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2024. ISBN: 978-3-16-154315-9

Table of Contents: https://cdn.mohrsiebeck.com/cd,c414e7252e4ade9eff8ea384ca2ce6.pdf .

Summary

When Poland became independent in 1918, knowledge about organizing the state and society gained utmost importance. Until 1939 sociologists, philosophers, pedagogues, and representatives of the natural sciences met around the journal Nauka Polska and the Science Studies Circle (Koło Naukoznawcze) to discuss the advancement of science and the academic system. They asked how scientific creativity could be generated and stabilized (Antoni B. Dobrowolski), how a socio-psychological “science of knowledge” should look like (Florian Znaniecki), or how society would benefit from a “science of science” (Maria Ossowska und Stanisław Ossowski). Unlike other contemporary reflections on science, such as those of Ludwik Fleck, most of these ideas have fallen into oblivion. This volume reconstructs the forgotten history of the Warsaw based initiative and presents key contributions in English translation, many for the first time.

ACTA MEDICORUM POLONORUM 2023

 ACTA MEDICORUM POLONORUM 2023

R.13/2023 z.1: http://www.actamedicorum.ump.edu.pl/category.php?level=2&id=35 .

R.13/2023 z.2: http://www.actamedicorum.ump.edu.pl/category.php?level=2&id=36 .

Contradictions/Kontradikce: A Journal for Critical Thought. Call for Papers for volume 9 (2025), Marxist Orthodoxies in Central and Eastern Europe

 Contradictions/Kontradikce: A Journal for Critical Thought. Call for Papers for volume 9 (2025), Marxist Orthodoxies in Central and Eastern Europe (https://kontradikce.flu.cas.cz/en/about-us)

Many classical studies of the intellectual history of Marxism in the Eastern Bloc focus on what is called “critical”, “revisionist” or “humanist” Marxism. The other pole - “dogmatic”, “official” or “orthodox” thinkers - receive, however, far less attention. As a result, the official position is portrayed as static, or - in many cases - simply identifiable with Stalinism. While this perspective has served understandable political purposes (challenging the identification of Marxism with Soviet orthodoxy), it overlooks the dramatic changes in the official doctrine and its attitude to certain currents. What was “orthodox” took on different meanings as the party line changed, and room for interpretation and debate remained regarding what should be considered, at any given moment, orthodox.

Moreover, this one-sided interest in unorthodox Marxism overlooks the variety of historical meanings taken by the term “orthodoxy,” which reach beyond the context of ruling Communist Parties. The roots of the distinction between orthodoxy and “revisionism” in Marxism go back to the famous debate within the Second International between adherents of (“orthodox”) Kautsky on one hand and (“revisionist”) Bernstein on the other. But we can follow the continual re-articulation of orthodoxy and revision throughout much of the history of Marxism in the 20th century. In this sense the distinction appears as a battlefield, where the supposed true essence of Marxism was hotly debated and contested, giving orthodoxy varying meanings, often denoting almost contradictory contents. Advocates of orthodoxy sometimes championed revolution against reforms, sometimes defended an ideological party line against deviationists or sectarians, sometimes proclaimed the self-sufficiency of Marxist philosophy against the outside, non-Marxist elements, and sometimes, as in the case of György Lukács, made orthodoxy into a centrepiece for moving Marxism away from an emphasis on specific ideological content, toward an orthodoxy of the method. Consequently, being orthodox depended on the concrete historical and social context revealing specific power relationships within the Marxist community.   

In the next issue of Contradictions, we will investigate orthodoxy in its multiple meanings. We encourage contributions that address the following non-exclusive questions and themes:

• the genealogy of the orthodoxy/revisionism division; 

• the relationship between Marxist epistemology and politics;

• criticism of Marxist humanism and empiricist traditions; 

• studies of the Marxist method and its application in other sciences; 

• institutions of political control over Marxist theory; 

evolution and institutionalisation of “official doctrine”

The deadline for articles is January, 15th, 2025. We ask prospective contributors to submit 300-word (max.) abstracts by September 30, 2024. Send abstracts and articles to kontradikce@flu.cas.cz. Further guidelines for authors are available here.

Submissions can take the form of:

• Studies and essays: These may be articles of a more or less traditional academic

character, but with an emphasis on the social significance of the material presented

and on original and provocative argumentation. But we also welcome more essayistic

contributions that break with some of the conventions of scholarly form. We are

interested in rigorously theoretical essays, works of high scholarly value but which

might not find a place in other scholarly journals. Texts for this volume should be no longer than 8,000 words (including notes and bibliography). Include a list of key words and an abstract of approximately 200–300 words. All studies and essays will be subject to independent, double-blind peer review.

• Discussion contributions: polemical texts addressing a theme of particular interest to

the journal’s readership. Approximately 2500–5000 words.

• Translations and materials: Important contributions to Central/Eastern European

social thought that can be brought to international attention in English translation; and previously unpublished or long-unavailable “materials,” accompanied by annotation that presents the materials’ significance to contemporary readers. 3000–10,000 words.

• Reviews of recent publications. Reviews may be brief (1000–2500 words) or may constitute longer review essays (2500–7500 words). We especially welcome review essays or bibliographical overviews that present and discuss works relevant to freudo-marxist studies in CEE. Otherwise, we welcome any reviews on topics and issues related to the history and contemporary developments of the radical intellectual traditions and movements in the region. Please contact us beforehand if you are interested in writing a review. 

• We accept submissions written in English, Czech, or Slovak.

E.E. Dmitriev (ed.). Neuclidean Geometry of Yuri Mann

 Е.Е. Дмитриева (ред.). Неевклидова геометрия Юрия Манна: памяти ученого. М.: ИМЛИ РАН, 2024 // E.E. Dmitriev (ed.). Neuclidean Geometry of Yuri Mann: in memory of the scientist. M.: IMLI RAN, 2024

В сборник памяти Юрия Владимировича Манна (1929–2022), блестящего исследователя творческого наследия Н.В. Гоголя, специалиста по русской литературе и критике XIX в., главного научного сотрудника Института мировой литературы им. А.М. Горького РАН и профессора кафедры истории русской классической литературы историко-филологического факультета Российского государственного гуманитарного университета, входят научные статьи и воспоминания филологов — его коллег, друзей и учеников из разных стран мира. Темы статей, представленных в настоящем сборнике, отражают широкий круг проблем, затронутых Ю.В. Манном в его собственных статьях и книгах, — от вопросов истории русской литературы XIX в. до проблем современной литературы и критики. В разделе «Записки комментатора» отражена работа сотрудников группы по изданию академического Собрания сочинений и писем Н.В. Гоголя (в 23 томах), которое инициировал и возглавил Ю.В. Манн. В мемуарном разделе собраны материалы о жизни и творчестве ученого. Завершает книгу библиография работ Ю.В. Манна. Книга представляет интерес для исследователей, преподавателей, студентов факультетов гуманитарных наук, а также для широкого круга читателей, интересующихся проблемами русской культуры и словесности.

Kwartalnik Historii Nauki i Techniki, 2024, Issue 2 is online

Kwartalnik Historii Nauki i Techniki, 2024, Issue 2 is online. open access, Polish with English abstracts. Open access: https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.24.2 .

Spis treści 

ARTYKUŁY 

Jarosław Barański, Jacek Smereka, Dezinformacja na temat COVID-19 w mediach społecznościowych a kryzys epistemiczny. Przegląd problemów. . . . . . . . . . 9 

Zbigniew Landowski, Orientaliści i orientalistyka w międzywojennym Wilnie (1920–1939). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Erika Luciano, Italian and Polish Mathematicians Face Racial Persecution and Emigration: Backgrounds, Individual Fates and Global Aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 

Sebastian Siembora, Polska szkoła archeologii śródziemnomorskiej w audycjach Polskiego Radia (1971–1980). Nowe źródła w studiach nad historią dyscypliny i jej społeczną recepcją . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 

Maciej Trąbski, Niedokończona twierdza – plan Christiana Dahlkego z 1746 r. dotyczący ufortyfi kowania klasztoru OO. Dominikanów na Górze Różańcowej w Podkamieniu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 

RECENZJE 

Elżbieta Orman, Magdalena Bernacka, Piotr Czaja, Czytelnio polska, cześć ci, cześć. Dorobek polskich słuchaczy Akademii Górniczej w Leoben, Wydawnictwa AGH, Kraków 2021, ss. 520. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 

Zbigniew J. Wójcik, Andrzej Manecki, Ludzie nauk o Ziemi i Kosmosie z wydarzeniami lat minionych w tle. Utrwalanie pamięci, Wydawnictwo Mineralogiczne Mineralpress, Kraków 2023, ss. 446. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

WSPOMNIENIA Anna Trojanowska, Profesor Wanda Grębecka (1932–2023) i jej związki z „Kwartalnikiem Historii Nauki i Techniki” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

ICON The Journal of the International Committee for the History of Technology Volume 29, Number 1, 2024

ICON The Journal of the International Committee for the History of Technology Volume 29, Number 1, 2024

URL: https://www.icohtec.org/icon/volume-29-issue-1-2024/ .

CONTENTS  

Jethron Ayumbah Akallah, Nelson Arellano-Escudero, Animesh Chatterjee, Sławomir Łotysz, Saara Matala, Min Fanxiang, Stefan Poser, Hugh R. Slotten, and Magdalena Zdrodowska: History of Technology in Global Perspectives [open access: https://www.icohtec.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/icon-9-45.pdf]

Jorge Alonso Rodriguez Ortiz The South American Center of the Institution of Locomotive Engineers: Circulation of British Engineers in South America, 1920–1949 

Petter Wulff Experts and Evidence: Sweden’s Nuclear Decision-Making in the 1970s 

Murali Srividya Iyengar and Rajagopalan Venkatesh Online Food Delivery Apps: Customer Perception towards Restaurant and Home-Made Food Delivery in Chennai 

RESEARCH BRIEF 

Murali Srividya Iyengar and Rajagopalan Venkatesh Sustainable Luxury Stays: Investigating Eco-Friendly Practices in High-End Hotels 

BOOK REVIEW 

Federico de la Torre, Entre la quimera y la realidad. Industrialización y utopía social en Jalisco (siglo XIX), Mexico: Universidad de Guadalajara, 2021. 634 pp.

H-Environment Roundtables: Maya K. Peterson's Pipe Dreams: Water and Empire in Central Asia’s Aral Sea Basin.

H-Environment Roundtable Reviews

Dear Colleagues-

I write today to announce a new edition of H-Environment Roundtables. This roundtable features Maya K. Peterson's Pipe Dreams: Water and Empire in Central Asia’s Aral Sea Basin. 

Peterson, a leading scholar in the fields of environmental, Russian, and Central Asian history, died tragically in childbirth in June 2021, along with her daughter Priya Luna. AtA the time of her death, she was an Associate Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Pipe Dreams was her first book and a finalist for the Central Eurasian Studies Society’s prize for best work in history and the humanities.

We pause here to thank all of the contributors for generously sharing their time and ideas, even more so than usual, and to dedicate this roundtable to Maya. As an open-access forum, H-Environment Roundtables are available to scholars and non-scholars alike, around the world, free of charge. Please circulate.

Title: Pipe Dreams: Water and Empire in Central Asia’s Aral Sea Basin

Author: Maya K. Peterson

Contributors: Ellen Arnold, Pey-yi Chu, Heather Hoag

Editors: Melanie Kiechle, Kara Murphy Schlichting, Keith Woodhouse

URL: https://networks.h-net.org/sites/default/files/2024-06/env-roundtable-14-8_0.pdf

Submitted by Kara Schlichting 

new publication: THE HUMAN BODY AND THE ENVIRONMENT IN RUSSIAN AND SOVIET LITERATURE AND CULTURE (19TH–21ST CENTURIES)

 The Russian Review: Volume 83, Issue 3; including a special section: THE HUMAN BODY AND THE ENVIRONMENT IN RUSSIAN AND SOVIET LITERATURE AND CULTURE (19TH–21ST CENTURIES); URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14679434/current .

Friedrich Cain, Bernhard Kleeberg (eds.) A New Organon: Science Studies in Interwar Poland. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2024.

Friedrich Cain, Bernhard Kleeberg (eds.) A New Organon: Science Studies in Interwar Poland. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2024. ISBN: 978-3-16-154315-9

Table of Contents: https://cdn.mohrsiebeck.com/cd,c414e7252e4ade9eff8ea384ca2ce6.pdf .

Summary

When Poland became independent in 1918, knowledge about organizing the state and society gained utmost importance. Until 1939 sociologists, philosophers, pedagogues, and representatives of the natural sciences met around the journal Nauka Polska and the Science Studies Circle (Koło Naukoznawcze) to discuss the advancement of science and the academic system. They asked how scientific creativity could be generated and stabilized (Antoni B. Dobrowolski), how a socio-psychological “science of knowledge” should look like (Florian Znaniecki), or how society would benefit from a “science of science” (Maria Ossowska und Stanisław Ossowski). Unlike other contemporary reflections on science, such as those of Ludwik Fleck, most of these ideas have fallen into oblivion. This volume reconstructs the forgotten history of the Warsaw based initiative and presents key contributions in English translation, many for the first time.

Call for papers: The Ambivalence of Progress, Department of History, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana

Call for papers: The Ambivalence of Progress, Department of History, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, 07.11.2024 - 08.11.2024, Deadline 7.07.2024

The PhD and postdoc workshop "The Ambivalence of Progress" will address the macro-historical question of how we should think about the complex issue of the progress (or lack thereof) of human societies. We will be discussing the positive and negatives sides of modernity, the social groups and geographical regions that were left out of the fruits of progress, the history of the notion of progress itself and how it may differ according to one's perspective, the positive and negative sides of social and political regime changes, etc. We invite 20-minute presentations on specific aspects of this very broad topic.

THE AMBIVALENCE OF PROGRESS

Progress is an intricate notion. On the one hand, contemporary societies seem to be better off than societies of the past by many indications: modern economic growth is unprecedented, life expectancy is higher than it’s ever been, new technologies have enabled possibilities that previous generations could only dream of, wars between great powers have been on the decline, etc. All this would seem to naturally inspire optimism about the nature of historical development. One can mention Steven Pinker as the recent outstanding promoter of this view.

There are, however, many objections that can be raised. Economic expansion resulted in an unprecedented destruction of the environment, which is certain to entail major political and social consequences in the 21st century. The level of inequality both between and within countries is still very high and has been growing in the neoliberal period, which points to the fact that many countries and social groups have been excluded from the fruits of progress. Technological advancements may have opened up new possibilities, but they also unleashed new problems, including new kinds of violence and warfare. There is furthermore the inherent power disparity and exploitative nature of class relations in capitalism, which profoundly affects most people’s everyday life. Progress has many flip sides.

The dilemma is not new. While it was lurking in the background for most of human history, the notion of progress came to the fore in the age of enlightenment and was one of the defining ideas of the 19th century, informing the ruling ideologies. However, this faith in progress came to a halt in the face of the two world wars and the rise of totalitarian regimes in the first half of the 20th century. After its resumption in the post-war period, another climax of the belief in progress was the period of the 1990s, when history itself was famously proclaimed to be at an end. This optimism was once again short-lived, since the events of 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis and the rise of new populisms complicated any simple historical narrative. Hence it seems that the idea of progress itself tends to have a cyclical – rather than a progressive – history.

The notion of progress is also connected with differing approaches to understanding long-term historical developments, which have of course always been an important part of historiography and the social sciences. To give just one example: the canonical historical materialist perspective viewed history as a series of modes of production progressing toward ever-greater technological advancement, indicating an over-arching logic that stretches over millennia. However, this view has been extensively challenged, particularly for its teleological structure, which suggests that a different way of characterizing human history may be more appropriate.

These predicaments also take on a specific flavour in the local Slovenian context. While the older historiography, which understood Slovenian history as a grand march toward national independence, has been largely superseded, most contemporary historians would probably agree that the falling apart of Yugoslavia and the transition to liberal democracy was a welcome development. Leftwing critics, on the other hand, point to the price that was paid for this advance: the steep rise of precarious work, the unequal distribution of wealth, the corrosion of social welfare, etc. The transition to capitalism and liberal democracy resulted in a number of negative developments, which one has to take into account in understanding the history of Slovenia since its independence.

All this suggests that progress is an ambivalent and multi-faceted notion that should be used with a great deal of caution and reflection. How, then, should we think about the major changes that happened with the onset of modernity? What are alternative ways of thinking about the long-term development of human societies? How was progress conceptualized in different historical epochs? To what extent did notions of progress differ between different regions and different social groups, and what can we learn from such comparisons? How should we understand the transitions between different political regimes, particularly in the 20th century?

Application guidelines:

This is a non-exhaustive list of topics that will be discussed at this year’s PhD and postdoc workshop, organized by junior researchers Robin Dolar, Aljaž Sekne and Žiga Smolič at the Department of History, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. The workshop will be held from the 7th to the 8th of November 2024 and will consist of 20-minute presentations with subsequent discussion as well as lunch and dinner for the participants. We are accepting applications, which should include an abstract of around 150 words and up to 5 keywords on the proposed topic of presentation, until the 7th of July at the following address: progress.workshop24@gmail.com. Students who aren’t compensated by their universities can be offered partial financial aid.

Kontakt

progress.workshop24@gmail.com

call for articles: The People and their Universities

 call for articles: The People and their Universities: Academic Knowledge Communities in Europe in the aftermaths of empires, war, and socialism

For the book series New Europes (transcript, Bielefeld), we are seeking contributions for a new volume dealing with the histories of academic knowledge communities and their institutions in Europe, with a special focus on Central, Eastern, and South Eastern Europe (CESEE).

THE PEOPLE AND THEIR UNIVERSITIES: ACADEMIC KNOWLEDGE COMMUNITIES IN EUROPE IN THE AFTERMATHS OF EMPIRES, WAR, AND SOCIALISM

For the book series New Europes (transcript, Bielefeld), we are seeking contributions for a new volume dealing with the histories of academic knowledge communities and their institutions in Europe, with a special focus on Central, Eastern, and South Eastern Europe (CESEE).

We understand academic knowledge communities broadly as social groups who are in one way or another connected to the production of knowledge – as researchers, lecturers, laboratory and teaching assistants, as technical and administrative staff, as ministerial supervisors or (private) benefactors, as spouses, children, friends, or otherwise related to this sphere. The most common institution of these communities is the university. Understood as complex effects of epistemic practices, social distinction, built structures and administrative interaction, they are formed by knowledge communities that cultivate specific material, bodily, and intellectual practices within distinct generations, epochs and environments. As key places of truth, expertise, and authority in all aspects of learning. They represent epistemic order, but at the same time they serve as epistemic laboratories and sites of revolution or political control. Throughout history, they have stabilized political orders and caused upheaval.

The societies in CESEE have experienced the twentieth century as a history reaching from imperial disintegration to the disintegration of the socialist bloc, and, thus, academic knowledge communities in these regions seem to share a histories of political transformation processes between imperial projects, nation-building processes and a long phase of socialist transformation after 1989. However, these developments may not all follow the same big caesurae, ethno-national or generational logics, and migration or political and ideological movements.

The ambition of the volume is to understand how formal and informal communities of academic knowledge experience the end of the continental empires, two World Wars and the rise and fall of different socialist regimes. However, more than a history of universities in times of political upheaval, we hope to cover the way processes and movements such as nationalisation, mobilisation, resistance, Sovietization, Thaw, 1968, Solidarność, Postsocialist Transformation, Neoliberalism, affect communities of knowledge within and around these institutions.

The volume seeks to collect transitional and stable aspects between the many different historical layers and, in the sense of a "thinking between the posts" (Chary/Verdery), asks about the agency and role of universities and academic communities in the transformation processes in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe.

For our volume, we invite proposals which could consist of the following:

a) Articles of approx. 8.000 words exploring case studies such as

- the histories of universities from Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe,

- knowledge communities in transitional periods from the region otherwise defined,

- conceptualization of the links between epistemic orders and social and political histories.

b) We also welcome shorter pieces (up to 3.000 words) which focus on a primary document which helps understand significant ruptures in the history of a particular academic community from the region.

c) A third format we welcome are conversational pieces (up to 3.000 words) which cover the topic through a more personal angle.

New Europes book series:

The book series New Europes aims to provide a new understanding of Europe's past and present in the face of current crises such as Russia's war against Ukraine, climate change, the post-pandemic recovery, and the rise of new forms of authoritarianism. These challenges call for multidisciplinary, transnational, historical and critical approaches to existing paradigms for thinking about Europe. The editors encourage authors to revisit established narratives of European, national and subnational histories, to correct the neglect of geographical areas such as Eastern Europe in general studies of Europe, and to seek out new methodologies for interpreting documentary evidence. Books in the series are accompanied by richly commented selections of primary sources for independent study, alongside co-authored as well as single-authored books on topical issues. Edited by a group of scholars from History, Political Science, Gender Studies, and Literary Studies, the series aims to serve three sets of readers: the general public interested in contextualising present conflicts; readers seeking to deepen their expertise of modern European society in global contexts; and those involved in education at the level of schools as well as higher education, looking for inspirations and approaches in research and teaching of European history.

Timeframe:

- Please send us an abstract of 200 words by 30 June 2024

- The final contribution must be submitted by 15 October 2024 and will then go into peer review

- Possible genres: research articles, commentary pieces; annotated documentary sources

- Publication of the volume is planned for Winter 2025

For questions, please inquire with the editors Dina Gusejnova (d.gusejnova@lse.ac.uk), and Friedrich Cain (friedrich.cain@univie.ac.at).

CFP: European dissertation cultures in medicine

CFP: European dissertation cultures in medicine / XX Biannual Conference of the German-Polish Society for the History of Medicine - Duesseldorf 09/2025

At the core of our twentieth conference is the doctoral dissertation within the medical terrain. The Latin word dissertatio means argument or detailed discussion, making this classic form of scholarly publishing an ideal subject for longitudinal historical analysis. It allows the comparative study of academic discourse.

Originally, the dissertation was a document intended to supplement and prepare a doctoral candidate for the key moment of the doctoral project, the oral examination (disputatio). During the 19th century, however, the emphasis on the dissertation and the oral exam was reversed in several European countries with importance increasingly placed on the written work over its verbal counterpart. Dissertation policies in Europe varied then as they do now, depending on university traditions and legal frameworks.

Medical dissertations have a rich history. It is clear that both theory and practice are essential components of a well-rounded medical education. Yet, for centuries there have been debates in medicine about this relationship, particularly in the context of university training. There is a long tradition of questioning the practical relevance of medical degree programs and the scientific requirements of dissertations.

From early on, a doctorate promised better career opportunities and a higher income for physicians. At the same time, scholars would talk about “diploma mills”, suggesting that the requirements to earn the title are low at some universities. For example, the European Research Council (ERC) still does not recognize the German medical doctorate (Dr. med.) as proof of independent research. More broadly, the relevance of dissertations remains under dispute with uncertainties regarding plagiarism, authorship, and good scientific practice in times of advanced technology and artificial intelligence surfacing today.

Our aim with this conference is to examine doctoral theses in a medical-historical context, from their production (when, where, why, by whom, how...) to their reception in Poland, Germany, and elsewhere in Europe. When and how did medical faculties begin to develop their own dissertation culture, and how do medical dissertations differ from those of other faculties? Together, we aim to raise and discuss several questions of this kind as they relate to expertise, research ethics and impact in medicine.

The organizers look forward to receiving abstracts about research related to dissertations, e.g.: careers in medicine; inequality; authorship; plagiarism/scientific fraud; networks; digital humanities; policies, practices and rituals; trending topics over time; science language shifts; university history; scientific styles; gender; social/scientific impact of dissertations; politics and the public image of dissertations.

We encourage the submission of abstracts that build connections between the history of medicine and related disciplines.

Abstract deadline: February 15, 2025. Please send max 300 words and a max. 100-word biography to hansson@hhu.de

There are no conference fees. Junior researchers and other researchers may apply for subsidies to cover travel costs.

Call for papers: Translation Culture of the GDR

 Call for papers: Translation Culture of the GDR. University of Graz, 29.11.2024 - 30.11.2024, deadline: 31.07.2024

We cordially invite you to the conference “Translation Culture(s) of the GDR” as a continuation of the conference “Translating in the GDR” that was held in Berlin in 2022. The conference will focus on the representation of one or more translation cultures (Prunč 2008) of the GDR, with the aim of summarizing previous research and gaining a comprehensive understanding of translation in the GDR. The focus will be primarily on specialized translation, which has been overlooked in previous studies that have primarily focused on the literary field, to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon of translation in the GDR.

Contributions are welcome on topics such as the translation policy of the GDR as a state as well as of individual organizations in the GDR, examining the extent to which the political situation during the GDR’s existence led to an increase in translation activities; the motives behind the translation policies to be observed are just as crucial as the effects on a translation culture. Following on from this is the question of relations between the GDR and other countries or institutions that were established and maintained through translation. This does not only include bilateral relations with the FRG, for example, but also institutional networks such as the involvement in (inter)national professional associations and organizations. Furthermore, we encourage an examination of the actual practice of translation, as it forms a significant part of translational culture and can be understood within diverse networks.

We invite you to submit contributions on these topics or related issues:

- Translation policy of the GDR and/or institutions in the GDR: What was translated? Who were the individuals involved in the translation process? What were the motives behind the translation policies? What effects did these policies have on the institutions and professional practice? To what extent were they influenced by the political situation?

- Translational relations and networks of the GDR and/or institutions in the GDR: What translational relations existed with other states and/or institutions on a national and international level? How did these relationships develop? What roles did these relations and networks play?

- Translation practice: What were the working conditions of translators and interpreters and how were they influenced? What role did professional organizations play in shaping professional practices?

Investigating translation cultures always also includes insights derived from case studies, especially in the sense that they serve as a starting point for further questions and ultimately contribute to the abstraction of findings, enabling researchers to make more general statements about the respective translation culture.

Please send your abstracts of no more than 300 words to hanna.blum@uni-graz.at by 31 July. The abstracts can be written in English or German. There is no conference fee for presenters. The conference will be held on site. Please note that the details are subject to change without notice.

call for papers: The Dynamics of Secularism, (Anti)Clericalism, Theology, and Science in Southeastern and Central Europe

call for papers: The Dynamics of Secularism, (Anti)Clericalism, Theology, and Science in Southeastern and Central Europe, University of Montenegro, Institute for Advanced Studies, 28.09.2024 - 30.09.2024, Deadline 23.06.2024

Recent socio-political developments in Montenegro, marked by the active role played by the Orthodox Church during the country’s tumultuous period of political changes (2020-2023), invite us to theorise the evolving conceptions of secularism, secularity, post-secularism and (de)secularisation in Montenegro’s political and cultural context, as well as reflect on how these trends play out in the broader regional setting of Southeastern and Central Europe. To this end, our conference seeks to explore contemporary theoretical perspectives on the contentious interplay between secularism, pluralism and post-secularism, with a particular interest in how these debates pertain to the unique historical experiences and contexts of Southeastern and Central Europe, as well as on Montenegro’s idiosyncratic case.

We hope to engage with a variety of themes pertaining to the role of religious organisations in the public sphere, the place of religious argumentation in public discourse, and the historical legacies that informed the diverse secular configurations in Southeastern and Central Europe.

This conference will be held on September 28-29, 2024, in the coastal town of Petrovac, Montenegro.

A non-exhaustive list of suggested topics of interest:

- Philosophical and theological dimensions of the relationship between religious organisations and the State, and historical influences on this dynamics – from the legacy of Byzantine symphonia to the Imperial eras of the 18th and 19th centuries and the 20th-century experience of communism;

- The notions of secularism, pluralism, and the post-secular public sphere in the thought of Charles Taylor, Jürgen Habermas, William Connoly and other relevant contemporary thinkers;

- The relationship between secularisation as a historical process, secularity as an epistemic category, and secularism as a political doctrine beyond the West, with emphasis on modern and contemporary historical experiences in Southeastern and Central Europe;

- The nexus between religion, nationalism, state and nation-building, and the contemporary role of religious organisations in the discursive articulation of dominant national identities and imaginaries in Southeastern and Central Europe;

- The political activism of religious organisations, and their role in the processes of post-communist transitions of Southeastern and Central European states; narratives of clericalization, de-secularisation and anti-clerical resistance in the discourse of political actors in Southeastern and Central Europe;

- Contemporary perspectives on the academic and disciplinary status of theology and divinity studies, secularist and post-secularist conceptions of religious education and its place in the primary, secondary and higher education curricula in Southeastern and Central Europe;

- Contemporary perspectives on the place of religious discourse and religiously inspired justification in the public sphere, and the compatibility and interrelation of theological and scientific viewpoints in Southeastern and Central Europe.

Submission Guidelines: We invite scholars and researchers to submit abstracts that offer fresh insights and critical reflections on these themes. Proposals can encompass a range of disciplines, including political science, history, sociology, law, anthropology, theology, and philosophy.

Please submit an abstract of no more than 300 words, including a provisional title, 3-5 keywords, along with your full name and academic post/affiliation (if any). Selected papers will also be considered for publication in the conference proceedings.

Important Dates:

- Abstract Submission Deadline: June 23, 2024

- Notification of Acceptance: June 30, 2024

- Conference Dates: September 28 & 29, 2024

Keynote speakers will include Hugh McLeod (University of Birmingham), Marco Ventura (University of Siena) and Saul Newman (Goldsmiths, University of London).

We look forward to receiving your abstracts and to the vibrant discussions that will undoubtedly emerge from this critical examination of secularism, (anti)clericalism, theology, and science in the context of Southeastern and Central Europe.

For more information and submission details, please visit our website at https://bap.ucg.ac.me/ or contact us at ias.bap@ucg.ac.me.

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Call for Papers: Food, Plants, Remedies and Healing Practices: Women’s Ideas in the History of Medicine

 Reminder Call for Papers: Food, Plants, Remedies and Healing Practices: Women’s Ideas in the History of Medicine

Overview:

Women have played integral roles in the history of medicine, often serving as healers, caretakers, midwives and guardians of traditional knowledge surrounding food, plants, remedies, and healing practices. It has always been the woman who looks after and cares for the sick (children, parents, husband), especially in the home. Since the 16th and 17th centuries, this tradition has been increasingly recorded in writing, which today gives us an invaluable insight not only into the household and the life of women, but also into their medical knowledge and the various illnesses and cures. However, women’s writings are often overlooked or marginalized in mainstream narratives because they did not write in the scientific language of Latin, and because their writings were not in the conventional form of a published book. We find their knowledge scattered in recipe or receipt books, in letters, diaries and even in prose or drama. On the one hand, this makes it difficult to research these contributions, and on the other hand, these contributions are often not counted as traditional knowledge, even though they are very often based on traditional knowledge and knowledge transfer.

This call for papers for a collective work (book) seeks to explore and celebrate women’s ideas and experiences in the realm of medicine throughout history, particularly focusing on their roles in shaping the understanding and application of food, plants, remedies, and healing practices.

Topics may include but aren’t limited to:

  *   Historical accounts of women healers, herbalists, midwives, and practitioners of traditional medicine

  *   Analysis of women’s contributions to medical knowledge, including the identification and use of medicinal plants, foods, botany, geology and mineralogy

  *   Study of women’s engagement with natural philosophy/medicine across a range of forms or genres, e.g. receipt/recipe books, poetry, diaries, letters etc.

  *   Examination of the intersectionality of gender, race, class, and other identities in shaping women’s roles in medicine

  *   Case studies highlighting specific women healers or medical practitioners and their impact on communities and societies

  *   Exploration of women’s involvement in medical education, dissemination of medical knowledge, and advocacy for healthcare access

  *   Comparative studies across cultures and time periods, highlighting similarities and differences in women’s roles and contributions to medicine

  *   Examination of the ways in which women's knowledge and practices have been co-opted, appropriated, or suppressed within dominant medical systems

Submission Guidelines:

  *   Abstracts should be submitted by 30.06.2024.

  *   Submissions must be original and not under consideration for publication elsewhere.

  *   Papers should be written in English and adhere to academic standards of research and citation.

  *   Abstracts should include a title, author(s) name(s), institutional affiliation(s), contact information, and a brief summary of the proposed paper (250-300 words).

  *   Full papers should be between 7,000 to 9,000 words, including references.

Important Dates:

  *   Deadline for abstract submission: 30.06.2024

  *   Notification of acceptance: 08.07.2024

  *   Deadline for full paper submission: 04.11.2024

  *   Publication: approx. End of 2025

Contact Information: For inquiries and submissions, please contact Dr. Jil Muller at jil.muller@uni-paderborn.de<mailto:jil.muller@uni-paderborn.de>

Additional Information: This call for papers is open to scholars, researchers, and graduate students with an interest in the history of philosophy, history of medicine, women’s studies, herbalism, and related fields. We encourage interdisciplinary approaches and welcome contributions from diverse perspectives and methodologies.

Join us in uncovering and celebrating the rich history of women’s contributions to medicine and healing practices. We look forward to receiving your submissions!

Barbora Buzássyová: The Eastern Bloc and Sub-Saharan Africa. Czechoslovakia, UNESCO and Development Aid from the 1960s and Beyond.

Barbora Buzássyová: The Eastern Bloc and Sub-Saharan Africa. Czechoslovakia, UNESCO and Development Aid from the 1960s and Beyond. New York etc.: Routledge 2024. ISBN 9781032575469

This book analyses the shifting patterns of Czechoslovak educational aid programmes for sub-Saharan African countries within the broader framework of the global debates on the nature of development aid in education discussed on the UNESCO grounds during the three “development decades.”

Starting in the early 1960s, Czechoslovakia sent abroad hundreds of experts hoping to stimulate the development of local educational and scientific institutions. However, over the years, the development aid to African countries transformed into a special form of foreign trade, and distribution of experts turned into a profitable business. Yet, the tendencies towards “sustainability” and “higher return on investment” in the field of development aid were not limited just to the socialist bloc but emerged globally. This book, therefore, not only revisits the roles of Czechoslovakia and Africa in the Cold War history but also reflects on the function of aid in international politics.

The Eastern Bloc and Sub-Saharan Africa will appeal to students and historians specializing in the global Cold War, and particularly those curious about development, international organizations, economic history and transfers of knowledge in transnational networks.

Constantin Ardeleanu: Steamboat Modernity. Travel, Transport, and Social Transformation on the Lower Danube, 1830–1860.

Constantin Ardeleanu: Steamboat Modernity. Travel, Transport, and Social Transformation on the Lower Danube, 1830–1860. CEU Press 2024. ISBN: 978-963-386-753-2

Open access: https://ceupress.com/sites/ceupress.ceu.edu/files/steamboat_modernity_travel_transport_and_social_transformation_on_the_lower_danube_1830-1860.pdf .

Through a skillful combination of economic and cultural history, this book describes the impact on Moldavia and Wallachia of steam navigation on the Danube. The Danube route integrated the two principalities into a dense network of European roads and waterways. From the 1830s to the 1860s, steamboat transport transformed time and space for the areas that benefited from regular services. River traffic accelerated urban development along the Lower Danube and contributed directly to institutional modernization in one of Europe’s peripheries.

Beyond technological advances and the transportation of goods on a trans-imperial waterway, steamboat travel revolutionized human interactions, too. The book offers a fascinating insight into the social and cultural milieu of the nineteenth century, drawing on first-hand accounts of Danube cruising. Describing the story of travelers who interacted, met, and visited the places they stopped, Constantin Ardeleanu creates a transnational history of travel up and down the Danube from Vienna to Constantinople. The pleasures and sometimes the travails of the travelers unfold against a backdrop of technical and economic transformation in the crucial period of modernization.

online event: Living with heavy metals in northeastern Kazakhstan: confronting pollution in times of industrialization and crises, 1960s–90s

 online event: Living with heavy metals in northeastern Kazakhstan: confronting pollution in times of industrialization and crises, 1960s–90s

June 14, 15:00 CET

Presenter: Marc Elie (Center for Russian, Caucasian, East-European and Central Asiatic Studies, France)

Organizer: Anastasia Fedotova (Institute for the History of Science and Technology, St. Petersburg)

Registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/11EbgKBv6Bw_6ScuWxGiWKQfFDBc2Ja2TeGetYs6MGuI/viewform .

In northeastern Kazakhstan, the extraction and transformation of non-ferrous metals like copper, zinc, and aluminum from the 1960s onwards devastated ecosystems and human health. The cities of Pavlodar and Ust-Kamenogorsk (Öskemen) became huge industrial centers for the military and civilian sectors. Their inhabitants were exposed to intense pollution of air, water, soil, and organisms. Yet the dramatic health situation only sparked protests for a short period in 1989–1991. Before and after that, workers and residents seemed “resigned”, as the protesters lamented. This paper aims to explore the social processes behind this silence in the face of a grave situation and to understand how it could be temporarily broken. I hypothesize that both the organization of labor relations in the factories and the social relations between factories (between workers in the supposedly clean secret factories cajoled by Moscow and workers in the ostensibly polluting local factories; between female workers in light industry and male workers in heavy industry) help to explain this relative tolerance. The transformation of these relationships in the late 1980s under the conditions of perestroika enabled the formation of a short-lived united front against factory management.

Marc Elie is a historian of Kazakhstan at the Center for Russian, Caucasian, East-European and Central Asiatic Studies (France). He works on environmental issues from mudflows in Almaty to droughts in the northern steppes and pollution in industrial cities of the East. He has published L’âge soviétique. Une traversée de l’Empire russe au monde postsoviétique (with Alain Blum, Françoise Daucé, and Isabelle Ohayon, Armand Colin 2021) and Histoire du Goulag (with Juliette Cadiot, La Découverte 2017).

Call for papers: Conference on animals and human-animal relations in the Habsburg Empire.

Call for papers: Conference on animals and human-animal relations in the Habsburg Empire. 3.-4. October 2024, Ljubljana.

We are pleased to announce a call for papers for a conference on animals and human-animal relations in the Habsburg Empire. This conference aims to explore the lives of animals and various aspects of the complex and multifaceted interactions between humans and animals in the course of the long nineteenth century.

In recent decades, following the "animal turn," animals have been increasingly integrated into various academic disciplines, including history. However, they remain relatively neglected within the subfield of Habsburg studies. Central Europe, home to numerous animals whose lives dramatically changed during the last century of the Habsburg Empire, also experienced significant transformations in human attitudes and practices toward animals. Despite this, the following topics have not been thoroughly addressed.

To fill this gap and start a conversation on animal related topics, we invite submissions on the following topics:

The influence of religion and spirituality on attitudes towards animals.

Ethical considerations in zoo management and conservation efforts.

The emergence and spread of vegetarianism.

Vivisection and antivivisection movements.

Representations of animals in literature, art, and popular culture.

Educational approaches to teaching about human-animal relationships.

Legislative frameworks and policies governing animal welfare.

Human attitudes towards nature and their implications for conservation efforts.

The phenomenon of pet ownership and its societal impacts.

The intersection of agricultural practices, technological advancements, and animal welfare.

The economic significance of animals in various industries.

The role of inspectors and regulatory bodies in enforcing animal welfare laws.

The relationship between nationalism and attitudes towards animals.

Contributions of scientific research to the understanding of human-animal relations.

The spread and influence of animal protection societies in Central Europe and beyond.

The connection between animals and public health.

We welcome submissions from scholars working in any relevant discipline. Abstracts should be submitted by June 25th 2024 and should not exceed 200 words. Selected papers will be invited for presentation at the conference, with opportunities for publication in an edited volume or a themed journal.

Join us in exploring the diverse and dynamic interactions between humans and animals, and contribute to the growing body of knowledge in this important field. We look forward to your participation at our conference that will take place on the 3rd and 4th of October 2024 in Ljubljana.

For inquiries and submissions, please contact Daša Ličen (ZRC SAZU) and Wolfgang Göderle (University of Innsbruck|Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology),  dasa.licen@zrc-sazu.si respectively goederle@gea.mpg.de.