Call for Papers

The study of culture - whether it be from a regional, a national or a  
more global perspective - has been central to the humanities for at  
least two decades now. In this period, we have seen the rise of  
several disciplinary movements within this ever-expanding domain of  
research. Cultural studies, cultural criticism, cultural analysis and  
cultural anthropology are some of the more persistent labels to have  
been put forward in an attempt to describe and reorganise the field.  
Given the fact that the study of cultural artefacts and practices  
nowadays often steers a distinct historical course, the label of  
cultural history could be proposed as a sort of umbrella-term,  
comprising the previous ones. But is it, really?

At this four-day event - the inaugural assembly of the International  
Society for Cultural History that was founded at a successful  
conference on cultural history in Aberdeen in July 2007 - we want to  
address a series of fundamental questions about the recent impact and  
the near future of diverse forms of cultural history. Taking its cue  
>from the fundamental work of, among others, Catherine Belsey, Peter  
Burke, Lynn Hunt, and Philippe Poirrier, the conference will tackle  
the vexing question of the precise nature of cultural history. Which  
disciplinary models and/or critical paradigms can be brought together  
under this label? Do we actually need such a unifying label? If we do,  
then what exactly do we understand by it? Are there different,  
'national' (British, French, German, Italian, Finnish...) forms of  
cultural history and what distinguishes them from one another? How  
does one teach cultural history and what does one teach when one  
teaches cultural history?

The organisers of this conference welcome papers (theoretical,  
practical or a combination of both) that will enable us to formulate  
answers to the questions listed above, but also to other issues  
concerning future "orientations" of the field of cultural history.  
Where does the field stand, and where is it heading to? How does it  
relate to other academic disciplines both within and outside the  
humanities? The label of cultural history is a slippery one,  
consisting of two no less slippery concepts - culture and history. The  
past few decades have also witnessed fierce methodological debates  
concerning the latter term, debates about the theory and practice of  
historiography, about historicism and presentism, about the  
irretrievable loss of the past and its stubborn presence, about  
history and memory, about historical traumas and ways of overcoming  
them. Did these and other historiographical debates in any way alter  
the domain of cultural history? Is cultural history a specific brand  
of history, in terms of the topics that it studies or does it, rather,  
involve a distinct methodology that sets it apart from other  
historical disciplines? Should we take cultural history as something  
different from political history, religious history, the history of  
science, the history of medicine, the history of art and literature,  
or does it comprise all of the above? If it does, what are the  
professional expectations with which cultural historians find  
themselves confronted? Are they supposed be true homines and feminae  
universales or, rather, amateurs, in the positive sense of that word?  
And what about the inter- or multidisciplinary nature of cultural  
history?

Apart from proposals tackling disciplinary issues like the above ones,  
the organisers also very much welcome papers that bring cultural  
history into practice. Alain Corbin's book on Louis-François Pinagot  
e.g. (The life of an unknown, Columbia UP, 2001), dealt both with the  
methodological difficulties of a cultural historian - how to write the  
history of an unknown craftsman? how to use archives, the findings of  
the history of science and religion and of political history to  
portray the inner and external world of a simple man living on the  
countryside during the nineteenth century? - as it tried to understand  
how Louis-François oriented his personal and professional life. The  
sound of the clocks, the rumours on the Parisian political life, the  
presence of a schoolmaster or a clergyman, the rhythm of nature, the  
decisions of parliament and the prosperity of his fellow countrymen  
organized the life of this simple, unknown man. In terms of more  
traditional disciplinary markers, we welcome contributions by  
political historians, historians of science and medicine, art  
historians, historians of literature and music, specialists of the  
history of philosophy and religion, etc.

By opting for the notion of "Orientations" as the conference's  
key-word, the organisers also want to suggest that cultural history is  
actually all about the art of orientating - oneself, one's group,  
one's region, one's country, one's world. Paper proposals (400 words  
max.) should be sent to both [log in to unmask] and  
[log in to unmask] Deadline for submission is January 15th,  
2008. Notification of acceptance will be given before March 1st. Those  
invited to speak at the conference will be expected to become members  
of the ISCH before July 1st, when the final programme will be posted.  
Further information on the ISCH can be found at  
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/isch.


       
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