Náprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures (PDF)

Time: 16.-17.10.2024
Venue: Praha
Proposals by: 31.07.2024

Like many other activities, travel has for many years remained the domain of men. It was a dangerous, time-consuming and financially demanding activity that was denied to women because it distracted them from their ’natural‘ duties. Leaving aside high-ranking and well-to-do noblewomen, the opportunity to travel did not open up to more women until the 19th century. Even then, however, it did not become a mass affair. To travel as a woman was still to cross not only geographical but also social boundaries.
The purpose of the Women Travellers ? Women on the Road conference is to discuss the phenomenon of women’s travel in the broadest possible context. The contributions can concern both women who are themselves travelers, i.e. female pilgrims, tourists or professional travelers, and women who have embarked on a journey as mere companions of their male counterparts, i.e. without their own travel plans and interests. The common theme of the contributions should be how these women reflected on their travel experience, which was significantly conditioned by gender roles, social status or cultural expectations and differences. Although the focus of the theme is in the 19th and 20th centuries, the contributions are not limited by time or geography. The organisers prefer the following topics:

TRAVEL BIOGRAPHIES
Personalities of women travellers often offer not only attractive biographies, but are also a good source of knowledge on how women travellers were perceived and accepted by the public. What social expectations were placed on them? Did they embody or subvert contemporary constructs of femininity? The biographical contributions will give preference to lesser known representatives of female travel.
Papers analysing historical representations of women travellers in general are also welcome.

EXPLORING, CONQUERING, SCIENTIFICALLY SUBDUING THE WORLD Continue reading →

Jon Mathieu (Luzern) and Luigi Lorenzetti (Mendrisio)

Proposals by: 01.08.2024

The publishing house Routledge will produce a comprehensive Handbook of the History of the Alps by 2026. With this call for chapter proposals the editors would like to invite you to participate in this endeavour.
The handbook is edited by the swiss historians Jon Mathieu and Luigi Lorenzetti and supported by the Laboratorio di Storia delle Alpi at the Univ. della Svizzera italiana and the International Society for Alpine History. It will include approximately thirty chapters of 5000-6000 words each (30-38’000 characters). The Handbook is divided into four major epochs and becomes increasingly detailed as we move closer to the present. There are still a series of open topics, particularly in the contemporary period, for which the editors are looking for authors with this open call.

• Chapter for the period between the 12 and 18/19th century („Evolving mountain landscapes“): Religion and Politics in the alpine area.
• Chapter for the period between the 18th century and ca. 1970 („Paths of modernisation“): The Alps in literature and arts.
• Chapters for the period from ca. 1970 to present („Contemporary tendencies“): Urbanisation in and around the Alps | Energy discussions and solutions | Diversification of sports in the alpine area. | Within this contemporary period, you can also propose new topics for a tendency that you find particularly interesting.

The exact definition and content of the individual chapters are negotiated with the editors. If you are interested in contributing a chapter, please send a proposal together with a short CV by August 1, 2024 at the latest to: jon.mathieu@bluewin.ch and/or luigi.lorenzetti@usi.ch.

Source: Rural History Newsletter 87/2024-98/2024