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Call for papers: Isaac Beeckman in Context. Science, the Arts, and Culture in the Early Dutch Republic
Middelburg, The Netherlands, 27-28 September 2018
1618 was a crucial year in what is now known as the Scientific Revolution. In September of that year the Dutch artisan, theologian, schoolmaster and natural philosopher Isaac Beeckman (1588-1637) was promoted to doctor of medicine in the French city of Caen. To his dissertation he added a number of Corrolaria in which Beeckman laid down the principles of a new and revolutionary way to account for natural phenomena, the mechanical philosophy. Then, in November 1618, Beeckman met the young military officer René Descartes in the city of Breda. In a series of highly stimulating conversations he put Descartes on the track towards his own philosophy of nature. The rest is history.
On September 27 and 28, 2018, an international conference, to be held at the premises of the University College Roosevelt in Middelburg, the Netherlands, will commemorate these pivotal moments of 1618. Beeckman was a native of Middelburg and it was in this bustling commercial city that he was groping with his revolutionary insights in the years before 1618. Here he was deeply embedded in a cosmopolitan culture, a world in which sophisticated artisanal skills, riches from the overseas trading routes, humanistic culture and the study of nature were merging into a new culture of knowledge. Our conference aims to put Beeckman in the context of this new culture of knowledge and more specifically 1) to investigate how this world interacted with Beeckman’s mechanical philosophizing in form and content, 2) to study Beeckman’s role in the shaping of the new philosophy of nature, 3) to evaluate how Beeckman’s role in the development of the mechanical philosophy was viewed, both by contemporaries like Descartes and by modern scholars, especially in France.
Keynote speakers are:
Floris H. Cohen (Utrecht University)
Sophie Roux (École Normale Supérieure, Paris)
John Schuster (University of Sydney)
Huib Zuidervaart (Huygens/ING, Amsterdam)
Proposals for papers
We welcome abstracts for papers on topics related to the theme of the conference. Please send the abstract of your proposal to: k.van.berkel@rug.nl by February 15, 2018. The abstract must be no longer than 500 words and sent as a doc or a docx file (please do not use pdf format). The author’s name and contact information (affiliation, address and professional status) should be specified in the accompanying email. If you are not sure that your proposal fits into the larger programme, feel free to contact the organizers at the above email address. Notification of acceptance of the proposal will be sent by March 1, 2018.
Conference Organization:
Klaas van Berkel (University of Groningen) (k.van.berkel@rug.nl)
Albert Clement (University College Roosevelt, Middelburg) (a.clement@ucr.nl)
Arjan van Dixhoorn (University College Roosevelt, Middelburg) (a.vandixhoorn@ucr.nl)
Call for Papers, deadline 31 januari 2018
Addressing the Public Abroad: Strategies of Cultural and Public Diplomacy in the Early Modern Habsburg World (1550-1750)
Brussel, 6-7 december 2018
Op 6 en 7 december 2018 vindt in Brussel een congres plaats over culturele en publieke diplomatie in de vroegmoderne wereld der Habsburgers. Historici beseffen in toenemende mate dat vroegmoderne diplomatie meer behelsde dan formeel aangestelde ambassadeurs en hun officiële onderhandelingen. Veel meer actoren waren in de internationale betrekkingen actief, en dat deden zij in heel diverse formele en informele posities. Ook hadden zij een waaier aan middelen en tactieken ter beschikking om te lobbyen en hun missies tot een goed einde te brengen. “Addressing the Public Abroad: Strategies of Cultural and Public Diplomacy in the Early Modern Habsburg World (1550-1750)” focust op een thema dat verschillende historici en kunsthistorici in de afgelopen twintig jaar weliswaar onderzochten, maar dat slechts zelden expliciet gethematiseerd of op comparatieve wijze besproken werd: strategieën van culturele en publieke diplomatie in de vroegmoderne wereld der Habsburgers (1550-1750). Deze conferentie belicht de verschillende tactieken die de vertegenwoordigers van andere staten of van buitenlandse corpora – officieel en officieus – aanwendden om de publieke opinie in een gastland te beïnvloeden en op die manier hun diplomatieke missies meer kans op slagen te geven.
Deadline 31 januari 2018. Voor meer informatie: http://habsburgculturaldiplomacy.ugent.be
In 2018 wordt de tweejaarlijkse scriptieprijs van de werkgroep De Zeventiende Eeuw (€500,-) weer uitgeloofd. De jury roept leden-docenten op om de prijs onder de aandacht te brengen van studenten die een goede (onderzoeks) MA-scriptie hebben geschreven op het gebied van de cultuur in de Nederlanden tussen 1550 en 1720. Deelname staat open voor scripties uit alle relevante disciplines. Ook in het Engels, Duits of Frans geschreven scripties komen in aanmerking. De jury bestaat uit Helmer Helmers (Universiteit van Amsterdam), Carolina Lenarduzzi (Universiteit Leiden) en Femke Diercks (Rijksmuseum).
De winnende scriptant wordt in de gelegenheid gesteld (een gedeelte van) de scriptie om te werken tot een artikel voor het Jaarboek De zeventiende eeuw of het Open Access peer reviewed tijdschrift Early Modern Low Countries. De redactie van het desbetreffende tijdschrift zal hierbij assisteren. Voorwaarde is wel dat het materiaal uit de scriptie niet al elders is gepubliceerd of aan andere tijdschriften is aangeboden.
Klik hier voor meer informatie.
Op 9 en 10 februari 2018 vindt in Gent het congres plaats ‘Literatures without Frontiers? Perspectives for a Transnational Literary History of the Low Countries’
http://www.literatureswithoutfrontiers.ugent.be/
Traditional literary historiography is rooted in the 19th-century construction of national literatures based on the political desire to demarcate national states and their corresponding linguistic identities from each other. For the study of the literature that predates the 19th-century nationstate – the literature of the period that will be central in this conference (1200-1800) – the taxonomy of literary phenomena on the basis of geographical frontiers that were in most cases non-existent at the time, is a highly artificial though very common practice. In our view, the study of literature in this long period is better served by a transnational perspective, if only because of the transnational character of its functioning. On account of their limiting focus, nationally oriented literary histories of the periods in question cannot but undervalue the actual cultural processes at work both in the international ‘Republic of Letters’ as well as in the language regions that exceed the borders of the current nation states.
In the past few decades, several attempts have been made to develop new literary histories that are driven by a transnational, pluri-lingual perspective. Denis Hollier’s New History of French Literature (1989) would be an early tentative example, but there are more recent ones that develop the transnational perspective more systematically: the New History of German Literature, edited by David Wellbery, Judith Ryan and Hans-Ulrich Gumbrecht (2004); French Global. A New Approach to Literary History, edited by Christie McDonald and Susan Rubin Suleiman (2010); and Greil Marcus and Werner Sollors’ A New Literary History of America (2012). Last year, David Wallace edited Europe, A Literary History, 1348-1418, a book that is structured through 10 sequences of places that are connected through trade, pilgrimage, etc. and literary exchange. So far, the historiography of the literature produced in the Low Countries has not really profited from this new approach. While the ‘medieval’ and ‘early modern’ volumes of the recent Geschiedenis van de Nederlandse Literatuur do pay attention to the presence of non-Dutch literary writings in the geographical space under scrutiny, both the object and the methodology of research is largely defined by the same parameters that mark traditional, more ‘nationalist’ literary histories.
This conference aims to bring together a number of telling examples that advocate a transnational perspective for the construction and writing of the literary history (histories?) of the Low Countries in the period 1200-1800. Papers will address case studies (authors, texts, translations, mechanisms of textual production, motifs, tropes, genres) that on account of their ‘transnational’ character have fallen outside the scope of the current attempts of literary historiography. Other papers will focus on the literary infrastructure that enabled the cross-border reception of literary texts (like the repertoire of travelling theatre companies), or on case studies that are discussed in extant histories but whose impact and importance could be brought out differently (more interestingly, hopefully) in a transnational framework.
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This academic event serves as the closing conference of the activities of the FWO-Flanders funded Scientific Research Community ‘Goliath’ – a consortium of (mainly) Flemish and Dutch literary historians from the universities of Amsterdam, Antwerp, Berlin, Ghent, Leiden, Leuven, Nijmegen and Utrecht. The conference is a joint initiative of Goliath, Ghent University (LIterary Department) and the Royal Academy of Dutch Language and Literature (KANTL), funded by FWO-Flanders.
Het Rijksmuseum biedt weer beurzen aan voor fellows. De oproep luidt:
The Rijksmuseum Fellowship Programme
We welcome international research proposals which open new perspectives on the Rijksmuseum’s collection, its history and activities. The purpose of the programme is to enable applicants to base part of their research at the Rijksmuseum and thus to strengthen the bonds between the museum and universities. The focus of research should relate to the Rijksmuseum’s collection and activities, and may encompass any of its varied holdings, including paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, prints, drawings, photography and historical artefacts. The programme offers students and academic scholars access to the museum’s collections, library, conservation laboratories and curatorial expertise. Furthermore, the museum facilitates opportunities for Fellows to engage in workshops and excursions to encourage the exchange of knowledge – both amongst themselves and the broader museum audience.
Eligibility
The Rijksmuseum Fellowship Programme is open to candidates of all nationalities and with varied specialisms. They may include art historians, curators, conservators, historians and scientists. Candidates should have proven research capabilities, academic credentials and excellent written and spoken knowledge of two languages (English and preferably Dutch or German). Fellowships will be awarded for a duration ranging from 6-24 months, starting in the academic year 2018-2019. Please review the Rijksmuseum website for detailed information on each individual Fellowship position.
Funding
Fellowship stipends are awarded to help support a Fellow’s study and research efforts during the tenure of their appointment. The stipend amount varies by funding source and Fellowship period. Visit the Rijksmuseum website for further information.
Application and procedure
Please review the eligibility, funding and application requirements by following the link to the Fellowship of your interest:
The closing date for all applications is 14 January 2018, at 6:00 p.m. (Amsterdam time/CET). No applications will be accepted after this deadline. All applications must be submitted online and in English. Applications or related materials delivered via email, postal mail, or in person will not be accepted. Selection will be made by an international committee in February 2018. The committee consists of eminent scholars in the relevant fields of study from European universities and institutions, and members of the curatorial and conservation staff of the Rijksmuseum. Applicants will be notified by 1 March 2018. All Fellowships will start in September 2018.
Further information and application forms: www.rijksmuseum.nl/fellowships
For questions concerning the application procedure, contact Marije Spek, Coordinator of the Fellowship Programme (m.spek@rijksmuseum.nl), +31 (0)20-6747395
Het langverwachte eerste nummer van het nieuwe Jaarboek De Zeventiende Eeuw is verschenen en zal een dezer dagen bij alle leden op de deurmat liggen. Dit eerste Jaarboek De Zeventiende Eeuw bestaat voor een belangrijk deel uit bijdragen die voortvloeien uit het jaarcongres 2016 van de Werkgroep, getiteld ‘Oud, maar niet versleten!’ Voorafgegaan door een introductie van de hand van Gerrit Verhoeven en Jaco Zuijderduijn wordt in een achttal bijdragen vanuit historisch, kunsthistorisch of letterkundig perspectief het fenomeen ouderdom in de zeventiende eeuw onder de loep genomen. Daarnaast bevat dit Jaarboek een special over zeventiende-eeuwse papierknipkunst, bestaande uit een interview met en een artikel van papierknipkenners en -verzamelaars Joke en Jan Peter Verhave. Verder beschrijft Rudy Jos Beerens zijn rol in het internationale en interdisciplinaire onderzoeksproject Coral. En tot slot vertellen Ad Leerintveld, scheidend conservator moderne handschriften bij de Koninklijke Bibliotheek, en Jeroen van Dommele, zijn opvolger, in de rubriek ‘Dubbelgesprek’ hoe zij terugkijken c.q. vooruitblikken op hun baan.
The St Andrews Book Conference: Print and Power
21-23 June 2018
In the early modern period print could make or break power. While scholars have focussed mainly on efforts by authorities to restrict the circulation of printed texts, civic and ecclesiastical authorities recognised the potential as well as the dangers of this new technology. Cardinal Raymond Peraudi fully embraced the advantages offered by the new medium of print. On his fundraising campaign in the Holy Roman Empire he commissioned thousands of indulgence certificates and papal bulls. Repression of print could be fierce but governments throughout Europe increasingly recognized the power of print, and started using printed broadsheets to communicate decisions with their citizens. This conference will explore the multifaceted and changing relationships between power and print in the early modern world.
The organisers welcome contributions on any facet of this theme. Examples are:
Co-organised by Nina Lamal, Helmer Helmers and Jamie Cumby the conference will take place between 21 and 23 June 2018.
The call for papers is now open and is available online on the USTC website at: http://ustc.ac.uk/index.php/site/conference.
Those interested in giving a paper are asked to offer a proposal (max. 300 words). Proposals should be sent to Jamie Cumby (jec22@st-andrews.ac.uk) by 1 December 2017.
The papers given at this conference will form the basis of an edited volume in Brill’s Library of the Written Word.
Er prijkt een nieuwe column uit de gelederen van de Werkgroep Zeventiende Eeuw op de website van de Maatschappij der Nederlandse letterkunde. In ‘Vorstelijke macht als familiebedrijf’ schrijft Jasper van der Steen over zijn nieuwe (NWO veni) onderzoeksproject.
Call for Papers Workshop: Hybridisation in Natural History?
Materials and Texts Between Asia and Europe, 17th and 18th Centuries
February 21–24, 2018
Organized by Maria-Theresia Leuker, Esther Helena Arens and Charlotte Kießling
University of Cologne, Institute of Dutch Language and Literature
DFG-Project Circulation in Spaces of Knowledge Between Asia and Europe: G.E. Rumphius and his Texts, circa 1670–1755
Workshop Topic and Questions
Within the project Circulation in Spaces of Knowledge Between Asia and Europe, our focus lies on works of natural history connecting the Moluccas and the Netherlands during the process of European colonisation in the 17th and 18th centuries. We are especially interested in the different “ways of knowing and working” (Pickstone) that contributed to G. E. Rumphius’ books on the Ambonese flora and fauna.
On the surface, the objects and texts of Rumphius’s natural history can easily be localised in a specific geographical place or a specific collective practice. When taking a closer look, a shell from the coast of Papua was purchased from a trader coming through the market in Kota Ambon, incorporating different ways of transporting, assembling, and ordering material in the process. A plant was cultivated only in gardens or plantations in Java, but formed part of the larger knowledge economy within the Dutch East India Company. Also, the plant could take on a double function as food and as medicine and consequently go through different cycles of commodification. The shell might have been transformed from animal into artefact on one of the Indonesian islands and subsequently into a curiosity in a Dutch cabinet. European and Moluccan knowledge interact in a hybrid natural history. A description of shells found while walking along the beach of Ambon was illustrated with copperplate prints depicting specimens from Dutch collections. For the textual representation of a shell, analogies and metaphors as well as the poetics of the rare, wonderful and marvellous were used. A narrative could be part of the depiction of a plant, thus combining local objects and local narratives with strategies of representation that originated in Europe.
The production and reception of knowledge about natural history is situated in cultural contact between Asian and European actors and framed as a process of circulation with dynamics that constituted new spaces of knowledge between Europe and Asia. Invited speakers at this point include Susanne Friedrich (LMU), Siegfried Huigen (Wrocław), Eric Jorink (Huygens Institute, Amsterdam/Leiden), Sri Margana (Yogyakarta), Dániel Margóscy (Cambridge), Bert van de Roemer (UvA), and Claudia Swan (Northwestern).
During this workshop our aim is to look at the idea of hybridity as double function or combination of elements, and to discuss evidence for hybridisation as a process from which something new and different originates in the production of knowledge (Bhabha). Therefore we invite contributions from fields such as the history of knowledge, the history of science, poetics of knowledge, art history, and adjoining disciplines. Themes to be addressed include, but are not limited to:
Presentations will be 20 minutes followed by another 20 minutes of discussion.
For PhD-students at the beginning of their research, there will be a moderated poster session on the third day of the workshop, including a 5 min presentation of each poster and the opportunity to answer questions.
Organisation
During the workshop, lunches will be provided and on the second night there will be a conference dinner. Additionally, we plan excursions to the Southeast Asia collection of the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum and to an exhibition of Japanese woodcut prints at the Museum of East Asian Art in Cologne. We are applying for funds to reimburse hotel and travel costs for speakers/presenters.
Contact
Please address your abstract of 400 words (presentation) or your project outline (poster) with a short CV by October 23 to Prof. Maria Leuker at leuker(at)uni-koeln.de.
Presenters will be informed about our decision by the end of November.
Find more information about our project on our homepage and our blog.
