Beyond modernity. Transepochal perspectives on spaces, actors and structures

International Conferenc: Beyond modernity. Transepochal perspectives on spaces, actors and structures In recent decades, gradually but constantly, several paradigm shifts have shaped international historiography. New approaches—such as discourse analysis or those invoked by the linguistic and spatial turns— have led to the rediscovery of historical subjectivity and praxeological perspectives. While cultural history has gained more and more strength, social history still seems to be stuck in a crisis. At the same time, postcolonial studies and the new global history have been eroding classical historical assumptions still related to Eurocentric perspectives. “Modernity”, the main historical narrative of the 20th century, has been at the center of critique in both fields. On the one hand, modernization theory depended on the structuralist approaches developed by social history and historical sociology. On the other, it suggested that Europe and the “West” anticipated and dominated world history. In many respects, the downfall of modernity represents a major achievement as it was an expression of problematic theoretical approaches as well as this Westernization discourse. However, its decline has favored another development that might result in a significant loss for historiography, i.e. the decline of long-term historical analyses, which constituted a main feature of modernity narratives. By looking at the interplay between historical change and historical spaces, this conference raises the question of whether transepochal perspectives can be rediscovered without adopting the normative assumptions that deeply affected the tale of modernity. By focusing on Europe, Asia and Africa, it looks at the consequences of long-term scales for global history. The conference is organized within the context of the Annual Meeting of the Basel Graduate School of History (BGSH). REGISTRATION: bgsh.geschichte.unibas.ch/registration Your participation is welcomed. We would be pleased to receive your registration at the latest by November 15, 2014. INFORMATION: roberto.sala@unibas.ch FRIDAY – November 28, 2014 2:00 pm: Madeleine Herren-Oesch (Basel)/ Benjamin Schenk (Basel), Welcome 2:15 pm: Susanna Burghartz (Basel)/Roberto Sala (Basel), Introduction 2:30 pm – 4:45 pm: Section 1 – Spaces of Movement and Interaction Chair: Lucas Burkart (Basel) - “An Absurdly Small Sea?”. Mediterranean connectivity viewed comparatively – Peregrine Horden (London) - How Do Migration Systems and Migrants Construct Spaces – Dirk Hoerder (Bremen) - Contemporising Epochs: The Encounter between Mughal and British Imperial Spaces in the Late 18th Century – Kapil Raj (Paris) Discussant: Matteo Sanfilippo (Viterbo) Coffee break: 4:45 pm – 5:15 pm 5:15 pm – 7:15 pm: Workshop 1 (Seminar Room 3): Revisiting “Transepochal Perspectives” in the Work of Congolese Historian Jacques Depelchin Organisers: Melanie Boehi, Anna Vögeli Litelu (Basel) 5:15 pm – 7:15 pm: Workshop 2 (Seminar Room 4): Anachronic Times: Reading Texts & Images beyond the Linear Narrative – Organisers: Nikolai Kölmel, Michael Schaffner, Sarah-Maria Schober, Maria Tranter (Basel) 7:30 pm – 8:15 pm: Key Note Decolonizing Epistemologies at 90°0'N ? Floating Territories, Shrinking Time Frames and a Global Rescue Mission– Madeleine Herren-Oesch (Basel) 8:30 pm: Conference Dinner, Restaurant Aeschenplatz – Aeschenplatz 4, 4052 Basel SATURDAY, November 29, 2014 9:00 am – 11:15 am: Section 2 – Anthropological spaces Chair: Benjamin Schenk (Basel) - Understanding in the Historical Sciences: Lessons from the Longue Durée – Richard E. Lee (Binghamton) - The Long History of Civil Society in the European Past – Katherine A. Lynch (Pittsburgh) - Bondage. Labor and Rights in Eurasia, 18th-20th centuries – Alessandro Stanziani (Paris) Discussant: Roland Wenzelhuemer (Heidelberg) 11:15 am – 11:45 am: Coffee break 11:45 am – 12:45 pm: Round table: Did the Crisis of the Modernity Paradigm Kill Transepochal Perspectives? Chair: Roland Wenzelhuemer (Heidelberg) - Susanna Burghartz (Basel), Katherine A. Lynch (Pittburgh), Kapil Raj (Paris), Benjamin Schenk (Basel) 12:45 pm – 2:15 pm: Lunch, Departement of History 2:15 pm– 4:15 pm: Section 3 – Spaces of sovereignty Chair: Patrick Harries (Basel) - A Bridge Over the Colonial Gap: African Sovereignty in the Light of Euro-African Diplomatic Encounter – Isabelle Surun (Lille) - Sovereignty and Power in the Eurasian Context between Early Modern and Modern Period – Valeria Piacentini Fiorani (Milan) - Soft Sovereign Spaces of Modernity: Accounting for Silver in the Spanish Empire – Elvira Vilches (Raleigh) Discussant: Benedikt Stuchtey (Marburg)