CALL FOR PAPERS: 5th Scientiae Conference on Disciplines of Knowing in the Early Modern World (approx. 1400-1800)

Second Call for Papers, Scientiae Oxford 2016, St Anne’s College, University of Oxford, 5-7 July 2016

Keynote Speakers: Martin Kemp (Oxford), Wouter Hanegraaff (Amsterdam), Tara Nummedal (Brown)

Convenor: Georgiana Hedesan (Oxford), Senior Adviser: Howard Hotson (Oxford), Organising Team: Karen Hollewand (Oxford), Cornelis Schilt (Sussex), Luca Guariento (Glasgow)

Proposals are invited for the fifth annual Scientiae conference on disciplines of knowing in the early modern world (roughly 1400-1800). The major premise of this conference series is that knowledge during this period was inherently interdisciplinary, involving complex mixtures of theories, practices and objects, which had yet to be separated into their modern ‘scientific’ configurations. Although centred on attempts to understand and control the natural world, Scientiaeaddresses natural philosophy, natural history, and the scientiae mixtae within a wide range of related fields, including but not restricted to Biblical exegesis, medicine, artisan practice and theory, logic, humanism, alchemy, magic, witchcraft, demonology, divinatory practices, astronomy, astrology, music, antiquarianism, experimentation and commerce. Attention is also given to mapping intellectual geographies through the tools of the digital humanities.

Scientiae Oxford 2016 welcomes proposals from researchers studying the early modern cultures and disciplines of knowing at any stage in their career. The proposals can be for individual papers, complete panels, roundtables or workshops, according to the following guidelines:

Individual paper: A 300-word abstract for papers of maximum 20 minutes.

Panel Proposal: Each panel will be 1 hour 30 minutes and must include three speakers. The panel organiser should send a proposal containing three 200-word abstracts for papers of 20 minutes each together with an overall account of the panel (max. 300 words).

Roundtable: Each roundtable will also last 1 hour 30 minutes, must include at the very least one chair and one or two respondents, and must engage the audience. The roundtable proposal should formulate a clear question and provide a rationale for it of c. 400-600 words.

Workshop (new at Scientiae 2016): A workshop is an opportunity for teaching and learning in some area of early modern intellectual and/or material culture. Examples might include period instruments, laboratory practices, pedagogic or art techniques, digital humanities and print culture. A proposal of 400-800 words should be provided by the organiser(s), together with details about the organisation, duration, and presenters. Workshop leaders will also need to work out logistical issues well in advance, with limited assistance from on-site conference convenors. Advance sign-up by participants will be required.

Please submit your proposal together with a brief bio (up to 300 words) by using the online form http://scientiae.co.uk/submission-form/. All submissions should be made by 15 November 2015.

For more information, please also see the Oxford Scientiae website at http://scientiae.co.uk/oxford-2016/.

Dr Georgiana D. Hedesan
Wellcome Trust Fellow
University of Oxford
History Faculty
George Street
Oxford, OX1 2R

@acadscientiae #Scientiae2016

The Marginalisation of Astrology

Utrecht, 19-20 March 2015; Deadline 30 September 2014

The Descartes Centrum for history of science of the University of Utrecht, in collaboaration with the department of philosophy of the Radboud University at Nijmegen, will host an international conference on the problem of the marginalization of astrology in the early modern period.

Astrology has been a well-established and respected part of scholarship for centuries, practiced in many cultural and geographical settings. However, in the modern world, astrology, though still very much present, has lost its scientific status and is relegated to the fringes of serious learning. In the history of the sciences, this must be regarded as a momentous shift. The definite step in the “marginalization” of astrology appears to have been taken in the seventeenth century and should therefore be regarded as an important element (rather than as a consequence) of the so-called Scientific Revolution.

The reasons for this development are far from clear. Actually, even the development itself (when, where and by whom did astrology become disavowed) has so far been only poorly documented. The conference therefore aims at bringing together specialists from various fields to throw light on this intruiging question.

It is the aim of the conference to study the subject from various different angles:

· History of astrology. Although the project is about people NOT practising astrology rather than about astrologers, the history of astrology proper remains of course central. At the very least, an attempt should be made to compare differences in astrological practice (and their marginalization) between various local, cultural and religious contexts. Other relevant questions concern criticisms and apologies of astrology and attempts at astrological reform.

· History of science. The idea that astrology was discredited directly because of new scientific discoveries is no longer regarded as credible; on the other hand, it does not appears believable that there was no connection at all. The dismissal of astrology implied a transformation of the work and the identity of astronomers. In natural philosophy, it implied a rejection of the idea of celestial influence, which had become an integral part of scholastic philosophy.

· History of medicine. Medicine was a major application of astrology. Medieval physicians would routinely cast horoscopes for diagnostic and other purposes. The question is when and how this changed. Obviously, both the supply and the demand sides have to be taken into account.

· Court culture. Important on the side of demand were princely and noble courts. In the sixteenth century, princes would regularly employ court mathematicians/astronomers, whose task it was to cast horoscopes. In the seventeenth century, on the other hand, Louis XIV spent a fortune on the Paris Observatory, while casting horoscopes was not among the tasks of this institution. Again, the reasons behind this change are not clear.

· Print culture. Almanacs, ephemerides, and prognostics, in conjunction with information on their makers, editions, and distribution, should enable us (at least) to get some idea of the popularity, or lack of popularity, of astrological ideas and practices. This is a field wherein some work has already been done.

· History of religion. The era of the Reformation and Counter Reformation saw important developments in the field of theology, Church discipline and organization, which may have affected the status of astrology. One should also look to what one might call religious anthropology: shifting attitudes toward the supernatural and a changing definition of “superstition”, more or less identifiable with Weber’s “disenchantment of the world”. It is not clear to what extent astrology (as a learned practice) was placed in the same category as other superstitions, but the question should be asked.

· Finally, the question to what extent this development remained limited to Western Europe, and whether similar things happened elsewhere (and when), should not be forgotten, even if it is probably hard to answer at this stage.

People who are interested to give a paper at this conference are invited to send a title and abstract (300 words maximum) by the end of September to the organizers:

· Rienk Vermij, history of science, University of Oklahoma (rienk.vermij@ou.edu)

· Hiro Hirai, department of philosophy, University of Nijmegen (hhirai2@gmail.com)

For all other information, please also contact the organizers mentioned above.

CALL FOR PAPERS: The Marginalisation of Astrology

Utrecht, 19-20 March 2015; Deadline 30 September 2014

The Descartes Centrum for history of science of the University of Utrecht, in collaboaration with the department of philosophy of the Radboud University at Nijmegen, will host an international conference on the problem of the marginalization of astrology in the early modern period.

Astrology has been a well-established and respected part of scholarship for centuries, practiced in many cultural and geographical settings. However, in the modern world, astrology, though still very much present, has lost its scientific status and is relegated to the fringes of serious learning. In the history of the sciences, this must be regarded as a momentous shift. The definite step in the “marginalization” of astrology appears to have been taken in the seventeenth century and should therefore be regarded as an important element (rather than as a consequence) of the so-called Scientific Revolution.

The reasons for this development are far from clear. Actually, even the development itself (when, where and by whom did astrology become disavowed) has so far been only poorly documented. The conference therefore aims at bringing together specialists from various fields to throw light on this intruiging question.

It is the aim of the conference to study the subject from various different angles:

• History of astrology. Although the project is about people NOT practising astrology rather than about astrologers, the history of astrology proper remains of course central. At the very least, an attempt should be made to compare differences in astrological practice (and their marginalization) between various local, cultural and religious contexts. Other relevant questions concern criticisms and apologies of astrology and attempts at astrological reform.
• History of science. The idea that astrology was discredited directly because of new scientific discoveries is no longer regarded as credible; on the other hand, it does not appears believable that there was no connection at all. The dismissal of astrology implied a transformation of the work and the identity of astronomers. In natural philosophy, it implied a rejection of the idea of celestial influence, which had become an integral part of scholastic philosophy.
• History of medicine. Medicine was a major application of astrology. Medieval physicians would routinely cast horoscopes for diagnostic and other purposes. The question is when and how this changed. Obviously, both the supply and the demand sides have to be taken into account.
• Court culture. Important on the side of demand were princely and noble courts. In the sixteenth century, princes would regularly employ court mathematicians/astronomers, whose task it was to cast horoscopes. In the seventeenth century, on the other hand, Louis XIV spent a fortune on the Paris Observatory, while casting horoscopes was not among the tasks of this institution. Again, the reasons behind this change are not clear.
• Print culture. Almanacs, ephemerides, and prognostics, in conjunction with information on their makers, editions, and distribution, should enable us (at least) to get some idea of the popularity, or lack of popularity, of astrological ideas and practices. This is a field wherein some work has already been done.
• History of religion. The era of the Reformation and Counter Reformation saw important developments in the field of theology, Church discipline and organization, which may have affected the status of astrology. One should also look to what one might call religious anthropology: shifting attitudes toward the supernatural and a changing definition of “superstition”, more or less identifiable with Weber’s “disenchantment of the world”. It is not clear to what extent astrology (as a learned practice) was placed in the same category as other superstitions, but the question should be asked.
• Finally, the question to what extent this development remained limited to Western Europe, and whether similar things happened elsewhere (and when), should not be forgotten, even if it is probably hard to answer at this stage.

People who are interested to give a paper at this conference are invited to send a title and abstract (300 words maximum) by the end of September to the organizers:

Rienk Vermij, history of science, University of Oklahoma (rienk.vermij@ou.edu)
Hiro Hirai, department of philosophy, University of Nijmegen (hhirai2@gmail.com)

For all other information, please also contact the organizers mentioned above.

Knowledge, Exchange, Encounter: Europe and the Ottoman Empire, 1453-1718

An interdisciplinary conference convened by Simon Mills (CRASSH), Scott Mandelbrote (Peterhouse) & Kate Fleet (Skilliter Centre for Ottoman Studies, Newnham College) with the support of CRASSH, University of Cambridge. Two minute video introduction on YouTube here.

8-9 July 2013 at CRASSH
The aim of this conference is to further our understanding of the ways in which knowledge was exchanged between Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the period from the conquest of Constantinople to the Treaty of Passarowitz. The conference, and the resulting collection of essays, will make an important contribution to the growing body of research concerned with the transfer of information between European and Ottoman societies in the early modern period which has emerged to challenge the long-held assumption that these societies developed along separate, and largely isolated, intellectual trajectories.

One key objective of the conference is to cover a broad disciplinary field. The six panels will focus on different kinds of knowledge, broadly construed to cover both a number of fields of intellectual enquiry – botany, geography, and antiquarianism – and a number of practical disciplines: architecture, health, military technology, and economics. The conference will also engage substantially with questions concerning the mechanics of cross-cultural exchange: how, where, and by whom was theoretical knowledge and practical information conveyed between Europe and the Ottoman world? In order to answer these questions, the three panels on the second day will investigate broader concerns such as the ‘culture of collecting’ in its European and Ottoman contexts and the functioning of ‘knowledge networks’. Significant attention will also be devoted to the relations between intellectual exchange and the diplomatic, mercantile, and religious infrastructures which connected Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the period.

A second key objective is to ensure that both the Ottoman and the European sides of these questions are equally addressed. In order to work against the grain of long-established disciplinary boundaries, each panel will combine a specialist in Ottoman history with a specialist in European history. This will ensure that the presentations, and the planned publication, draw on a range of sources rarely accessible to an individual scholar. Participants will include a number of historians who have been at the forefront of developing new approaches to delineating the workings of cross-cultural exchange in the early modern period. This will be complemented by the work of well-established scholars in various fields of Ottoman and European history. The conference is jointly organised by Kate Fleet (Newton Trust Lecturer in Ottoman History and Director of the Skilliter Centre for Ottoman Studies, Cambridge), Scott Mandelbrote (Director of Studies in History and Perne Librarian, Peterhouse College, Cambridge), and Simon Mills (Mellon/Newton Postdoctoral Research Fellow, CRASSH, Cambridge.

Speakers include: 

Doris Behrens-Abouseif (SOAS)

Ebru Boyar (METU)

Sonja Brentjes (MPIWG) 

Kate Fleet (Cambridge)

John-Paul Ghobrial (Oxford)

Carmelina Gugliuzzo (Messina)

Feza Günergun (Istanbul)

Gottfried Hagen (Michigan)

Peregrine Horden (Royal Holloway)

Deborah Howard (Cambridge)

Colin Imber (Manchester)

Scott Mandelbrote, Simon Mills (Cambridge)

Andrei Pippidi (Bucharest).

Full details and online registration.

Intellectual Networks in the Long Seventeenth Century

Durham University, 30 June-2 July 2013

Durham’s Centre for Seventeenth-Century Studies – now part of the Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies – has, since its foundation in 1985, organized over a dozen high-profile international conferences. Next year’s event, which both continues that tradition and celebrates the Centre’s new role within one of Durham University’s flagship research institutes, will address the topic of ‘Intellectual Networks in the Long Seventeenth Century.’

The conference will explore the emergence and consolidation of systems of intellectual and cultural exchange during the long seventeenth century, while assessing their lasting influence on the history of scholarship, literature, diplomacy, science, and religious communities. The sub-topics listed below offer some guidance for the submission of proposals. Special emphasis will be placed on the relationship between the British Isles and the wider world.

• Erudite correspondence
• Academic networks: knowledge transmission and cultural change
• Diplomacy, high and low
• Literary circles
• Scientific institutions and the history of medicine
• Intellectual exchange among/within religious communities
• Book trade and collectorship
• Counter-intelligence and the political and religious underground
• Women and intellectual exchange
• Popular cultural exchange

Proposals for 20-minute papers and full panels should be submitted to early.modern@durham.ac.uk by 15th January 2013. Replies will be sent in early February 2013. Details concerning travel and accommodation for both speakers and delegates will be made available around the same time. It is hoped that the conference will give rise to an edited volume of selected essays.

The conference is taking place at an exciting time for seventeenth century and early modern studies at Durham. Recent significant developments include:

• The re-opening of Cosin’s Library (1699) on the UNESCO World Heritage site of Palace Green following a major restoration project; the collection, now part of Durham University Library, was assembled by the great seventeenth-century book collector John Cosin, Bishop of Durham (1595-1672)
• The joint custodianship of the library and archive of Ushaw College, shared between the trustees of the archive and Durham University Library
• A related international conference on Early Modern English Catholicism taking place at Ushaw College (28 June to 1 July 2013), with which the present conference will share a joint keynote lecture from Professor Eamon Duffy (Cambridge) on the evening of 30 June

For further details visit http://www.dur.ac.uk/imrs/newsandevents/research/cfp/

Call for Papers: Intellectual Networks in the Long Seventeenth Century

Durham University, 30 June-2 July 2013

Durham’s Centre for Seventeenth-Century Studies – now part of the Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies – has, since its foundation in 1985, organized over a dozen high-profile international conferences. Next year’s event, which both continues that tradition and celebrates the Centre’s new role within one of Durham University’s flagship research institutes, will address the topic of ‘Intellectual Networks in the Long Seventeenth Century.’

The conference will explore the emergence and consolidation of systems of intellectual and cultural exchange during the long seventeenth century, while assessing their lasting influence on the history of scholarship, literature, diplomacy, science, and religious communities. The sub-topics listed below offer some guidance for the submission of proposals. Special emphasis will be placed on the relationship between the British Isles and the wider world.

• Erudite correspondence
• Academic networks: knowledge transmission and cultural change
• Diplomacy, high and low
• Literary circles
• Scientific institutions and the history of medicine
• Intellectual exchange among/within religious communities
• Book trade and collectorship
• Counter-intelligence and the political and religious underground
• Women and intellectual exchange
• Popular cultural exchange

Proposals for 20-minute papers and full panels should be submitted toearly.modern@durham.ac.uk by 15th January 2013. Replies will be sent in early February 2013. Details concerning travel and accommodation for both speakers and delegates will be made available around the same time. It is hoped that the conference will give rise to an edited volume of selected essays.

The conference is taking place at an exciting time for seventeenth century and early modern studies at Durham. Recent significant developments include:

• The re-opening of Cosin’s Library (1699) on the UNESCO World Heritage site of Palace Green following a major restoration project; the collection, now part of Durham University Library, was assembled by the great seventeenth-century book collector John Cosin, Bishop of Durham (1595-1672)
• The joint custodianship of the library and archive of Ushaw College, shared between the trustees of the archive and Durham University Library
• A related international conference on Early Modern English Catholicism taking place at Ushaw College (28 June to 1 July 2013), with which the present conference will share a joint keynote lecture from Professor Eamon Duffy (Cambridge) on the evening of 30 June

For further details visit http://www.dur.ac.uk/imrs/newsandevents/research/cfp/

The conference is supported by Durham University’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, Department of English Studies, Department of History, and School of Modern Languages and Cultures.

The Medici and the Levant

I Medici e il Levante: Culture e Dialoghi tra Firenze e il Mediterraneo Orientale (1532-1743)

Friday, June 7, 2013 in Florence

The Medici Archive Project is organizing a one-day conference in English and Italian at the Archivio di Stato in Florence dedicated to new research trajectories on the relations between the Medici and the wide cultural, social and geographic area that in time has come to be identified as ‘the Levant.’ The period covered will extend from 1532, when the Medici received the ducal title, until the death of the last member of the dynasty in 1743.


The House of Medici established an extensive network of mercantile, political and cultural relations connecting Florence and the Eastern Mediterranean since the time of Cosimo the Elder (1389-1464). However, the nature of that exchange evolved rapidly once the Medici became dynastic rulers of Florence and assumed an increasingly active role in Mediterranean and Eastern European politics. First as Dukes of Florence and then as Grand Dukes of Tuscany, the Medici became players in an area that extended from Safavid Persia to the Republic of Venice, passing through the era’s superpower, the Ottoman Empire. The great number of letters in the Medici epistolary collection (the “Archivio mediceo del principato”) relating to ‘Levantine’ topics bears witness to a profound and persistent vested interest that wavered between reproach and fascination, and that went beyond military, religious or diplomatic concerns.

Contributions highlighting any of the connections between the Medici state and the Levant are welcome. Preference will be accorded to papers dealing specifically with the Medici and their perception of the East/Orient, or with their reception in that part of the world.

The major themes to be addressed at this conference include:

• Material culture exchange
• Early modern mercantile routes and commercial activity
• Mediterranean warfare
• Medici Eastern diplomacy and political strategies
• The historical and philological East
• News dissemination; Mediterranean contemporaneity
• Cartography; travel literature and correspondence
• The Typographia Medicea; the use and study of Eastern languages
• Mediterranean Jewry
• Scientific exchange
• Inter-religious dialogues and conflicts
• Slavery, emigration and immigration

Contact Dr. Maurizio Arfaioli and Dr. Marta Caroscio at: conference@medici.org.
Partial travel funding may be possible.

Call for Papers: The Medici and the Levant

I Medici e il Levante: Culture e Dialoghi tra Firenze e il Mediterraneo Orientale (1532-1743)

Deadline: February 11, 2013, Florence

Begins: Friday, June 7, 2013

The Medici Archive Project is organizing a one-day conference in English and Italian at the Archivio di Stato in Florence dedicated to new research trajectories on the relations between the Medici and the wide cultural, social and geographic area that in time has come to be identified as ‘the Levant.’ The period covered will extend from 1532, when the Medici received the ducal title, until the death of the last member of the dynasty in 1743.

The House of Medici established an extensive network of mercantile, political and cultural relations connecting Florence and the Eastern Mediterranean since the time of Cosimo the Elder (1389-1464). However, the nature of that exchange evolved rapidly once the Medici became dynastic rulers of Florence and assumed an increasingly active role in Mediterranean and Eastern European politics. First as Dukes of Florence and then as Grand Dukes of Tuscany, the Medici became players in an area that extended from Safavid Persia to the Republic of Venice, passing through the era’s superpower, the Ottoman Empire. The great number of letters in the Medici epistolary collection (the “Archivio mediceo del principato”) relating to ‘Levantine’ topics bears witness to a profound and persistent vested interest that wavered between reproach and fascination, and that went beyond military, religious or diplomatic concerns.

Contributions highlighting any of the connections between the Medici state and the Levant are welcome. Preference will be accorded to papers dealing specifically with the Medici and their perception of the East/Orient, or with their reception in that part of the world.

The major themes to be addressed at this conference include:

• Material culture exchange
• Early modern mercantile routes and commercial activity
• Mediterranean warfare
• Medici Eastern diplomacy and political strategies
• The historical and philological East
• News dissemination; Mediterranean contemporaneity
• Cartography; travel literature and correspondence
• The Typographia Medicea; the use and study of Eastern languages
• Mediterranean Jewry
• Scientific exchange
• Inter-religious dialogues and conflicts
• Slavery, emigration and immigration

To apply, please submit by February 11, 2013: 1) a paper title 2) a 500-word abstract either in English or Italian explaining the contribution to current historiography 3) a curriculum vitae. Submissions should be sent via email to Dr. Maurizio Arfaioli and Dr. Marta Caroscio at: conference@medici.org.

Partial travel funding may be possible.

Deadline: February 11, 2013

Cultures of Knowledge in Early Modern Europe, Trinity Term, Oxford

On behalf of the convenors, Pietro Corsi and Peter Harrison, the ‘Cultures of Knowledge’ Project is delighted to share the programme of its second seminar series, ‘Cultures of Knowledge in Early Modern Europe’, which you are warmly invited to attend. Details and poster available on the Project website:

http://www.history.ox.ac.uk/cofk/events/seminars-2010-11

Seminars will take place in Trinity Term 2011 on Thursdays at 3-5pm in the Lecture Theatre of the History Faculty on George Street. Papers and discussion will once again be followed by a wine reception. All are welcome!

Dr James Brown

Project Coordinator | Cultures of Knowledge
http://www.culturesofknowledge.org