Department of History and Department of Contemporary History, University of Vienna; Research Initiative „(East) European Epistemologies“ (Web), Max-Weber-Kolleg for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies, Erfurt

Venue: University of Vienna
Time: 02.10.2020
Proposals by: 01.06.2020

Over the last couple of years, historians of science and the humanities have taken great interest in projects related to Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe and their global interconnectedness. However, opportunities for a joint discussion of such projects are rare and often rely on ad hoc initiatives. After the inauguration of a forum for projects that link approaches from the history of science and the humanities with specific regional expertise in summer 2019 at Erfurt, the organizers want to continue the collaborative venture of elaborating on (trans)regional historical and political epistemologies.

The initiative aims at a productive debate between projects from history, sociology, literature, media studies, etc. dealing with scientific endeavours and specific investigations in (academic) research, institutions, migration of knowledge etc. We discuss perspectives on the local, regional, (post-)imperial or national frameworks of Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe in the light of specific theoretical frames, challenge the methodological perspectives of these projects, and seek to identify synergies between them.

The workshop is open to all young researchers focussing on the history of politics, materiality, and practices of (non-)academic research with case studies centred in or related to Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe in the broadest sense. To create a productive environment, we are particularly interested in discussing work in progress. The workshop will be based on pre-cirulated papers from ongoing research projects. They will be read and evaluated by all participants and each invited paper will be assigned to a senior researcher for a special commentary to open the floor. Read more and source … (Web)

isaScience 2020; Karoline Feyertag and Slavomíra Martišková (Web)

Venue: Reichenau an der Rax
Time: 12.-16.08.2020
Proposals – extended by: 31.03.2020

isaScience 2020 focuses on critical perspectives on heroic imaginations, cultic actions and the formation and maintenance of canons. Across musical styles and cultural spheres, heroes, cults and canons contribute to the creation of normative and exclusionary and even violent settings, dictating what ears and eyes should deem adequate and valuable. Likewise, heroisation, cultification and canonisation define what remains unheard, unseen and regarded as unworthy.

Historically, the making of “heroes” and the processes of canon formation have been closely associated with Western art music and the celebration of certain composers as “great artists” as well as the consecration of their works as “masterpieces”. These practices employed for the production of artistic values are informed by the ideology of the autonomous artist and the increasing formation of a museal culture that developed throughout the 19th century.

Moreover, these practices supported the emergence of a more strictly defined boundary between “highbrow” and “lowbrow” cultural forms and became the dominant standard by which popular and traditional music forms were evaluated. These developments are closely linked to Eurocentric, imperialist and elitist institutions such as opera houses, concert halls and music conservatoires that allowed for classed, gendered and racialized modes of producing, performing, consuming and appropriating music.

Later on, despite discursive struggles over cultural authority, the music industry – including music publishers, record company personnel, journalists and other cultural intermediaries – as well as the development of recording technology, the internet and social media have played a significant role in the definition of stardom, the making of heroes and the processes of canon formation within diverse cultural worlds, including jazz, rock/pop, hip hop, traditional music, classical music and folk music, among others. The introduction of … weiterlesen (Web).