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This from the CSDI list, so apologies for the inevitable cross-postings. Eight International Conference on Urban History Urban Europe in Comparative Perspective Stockholm 30th August – 2nd September 2006 www.eauh.org Call for Papers Major Session Material culture and the city: Continuity and change in consumption and social life in European cities, from the late Middle Ages to the nineteenth century http://www.historia.su.se/urbanhistory/eauh/mainsessions.htm#m3 Period: Medieval/EM Organisers: Bruno Blondé, Research Professor, University of Antwerp, Prinsstraat 13, B 2000 Antwerp, [log in to unmask] Natacha Coquery, Maître de conférences à l’Université François-Rabelais (Tours), 15 rue Alfred de Musset F 92240 Malakoff, [log in to unmask] Jon Stobart, Reader in historical geography, Coventry University, Priory Street, Coventry, CV1 5FB, [log in to unmask] Over the last two decades a growing body of research has focused on consumer history in general and material culture in particular. The burgeoning interest in consumer history has given birth to numerous probate inventory based studies and has also enhanced our understanding of the retail world of past urban societies. Yet, so far, surprisingly little comparative research has been done. This can be ascribed, partly to the variety and inconsistency of sources available (each with their own particular drawbacks); partly to the specificity of methodological strategies employed, and partly to the variety of sub-themes and approaches that can be used in tackling this vast study object. In this session we intend to highlight one important sub theme of consumer history: the influence that continuities and changes in consumption and consumer behaviour had on urban social life. Firstly, scholars will be invited to reflect upon the complex and variegated world of goods in the urban context. In particular, we invite contributions that focus on the diverse processes of acquiring and disposing of material objects (principally shopping, but also gift cultures, inheritance strategies and patterns, secondary markets, and recycling), and/or on the monetary, exchange and use value of material culture (including the role of gifting and inheritance in cementing social relations). To what extent were there continuities in such practices across space and time: can we, for example, see the emergence of a pan-European mode of shopping? How did changes in the ways in which goods were circulated relate to wider transformations in urban society? Secondly, and building on this, contributors are also asked to reflect upon the societal consequences of changes in material culture and consumption practices in the period prior to the advent of the department store. We invite papers that consider broad themes such as: the impact of Renaissance and Enlightenment ideals on the everyday practices of consumption. The extent to which eighteenth- and nineteenth-century consumer practices were driven by conspicuous consumption, and how they related to the advent of large-scale middle-class consumption. The emergence of shopping as a shared leisure activity, especially for women, and the ways in which this linked to both new patterns of sociability and the gendered use of space and time. The contribution made by consumer practices to the blurring of social boundaries and hence to the birth of a more egalitarian society. We also seek contributions that focus on the social impact of key individuals or particular material goods. For example: what role did urban middlemen, such as shopkeepers, play in (re)shaping social networks through credit facilities? How did changing market, auction and shopping practices influence social life in the city? How did the introduction of hot drinks influence urban sociability patterns and inform the genesis of public and private distinctions? What influence did the spread of watches exert upon the use of time in the urban context? Whilst the scope of potential questions is almost unlimited, the focus of the session will remain firmly on the social aspects of material culture and consumption. Both case studies and general thematic papers will be welcomed. Preference will be given to contributions that allow comparisons through time and/or space, and to presentations that offer scope for generalisation and theoretical reflection. If you want to present a paper at any of the sessions, please send a one-page outline to the appropriate session organisers, as soon as possible and in any case before 1 October 2005. You will be notified of acceptance by the end of November 2005. Accepted paper-givers must send one copy of their final text – 6 pages or 2500 words – to the conference organiser and one copy to the session organisers. This should be done before 30 April 2006. In order to ensure maximum effective discussion we intend to place all papers on the conference web site. Please, send your accepted paper as an e-mail attachment not later than 30 April 2006 to [log in to unmask] . You must also register for the conference, last date without surcharge is 1 June 2006.