Call for Papers: Headwinds Through the Iron Curtain. Fundamental and Applied Sciences in Communist Eastern Europe
Call for Papers: Headwinds Through the Iron Curtain.
Fundamental and Applied Sciences in Communist Eastern Europe
24th International Congress of History of Science,
Technology and Medicine - Manchester 2013
We invite abstract submissions for a symposium entitled
Headwinds Through the Iron Curtain. Fundamental and Applied Sciences in
Communist Eastern Europe, part of the the 24th International Congress of
History of Science, Technology and Medicine - in Manchester, (Monday 22 -
Sunday 28 July 2013). See the Congress web site here :
Scholars interested in contributing to this symposium
should contact us with a title and an abstract in English or French of no more
than 2500 characters before the 1st of September.
The history of science in the countries of the Eastern
bloc between 1945 and 1989 was a field of confrontation between opposing
influences. In the early years of communism, the traditional relations with the
West have been interrupted and Soviet scientists have become the essential
references. Nevertheless, the scientific blockage was suspended by unexpected
periods of opening during which certain sciences that had been annihilated
(such as sociology, genetics) were restored as academic disciplines, while
international networks were reactivated. The timeline of these different waves
of influence, specific for each country, is not linear and it does not cover a
homogeneous reality. Stalinization, de-Stalinization, national resistance and
nationalist movements have influenced the degree of autonomy of science from
political power. Moreover, an energetic refusal with respect to the
"pure" science led to an active orientation of the research toward
the fields of application.
This symposium aims to address the conflicting influences
exerted on the various sciences (experimental, social or exact sciences,
humanities) in all the countries from the Eastern bloc. In response to the
overall theme of the Congress, Knowledge at work, we wish to highlight the
areas of applied science. Did they really use the Soviet methods during
fieldwork, or just a scientific rhetoric that was accepted by the regime? In
the case of agriculture, was there a difference in the reception of influences
between the official line of Lysenkoist biology and methods of breeding?
How do the social sciences reflect the realities of each
country? What was the role of science in deciding the state health politics?
Experimentation, application, technologies, and medicine - are they more
autonomous than the fundamental research facing ideological and political
influences?
We have brought together proposals for the Romanian case
and we are waiting for contributions on other Communist countries from Eastern
Europe, in order to open a discussion from an international comparative
perspective. This symposium will provide the opportunity to create an
international network, the aim of which is to develop a collective, comparative
approach of the subject.
Dr. Luciana Marioara Jinga, The Institute for the
Investigation of Communist Crimes in Romania