CfP: Technological Drive from Past to Future? 50 years of ICOHTEC
The International Committee for the History of Technology will hold its 45th symposium and 50th
anniversary celebration at the Jean Monnet University in the city of
Saint-Étienne, France. The general theme of the symposium is “Technological Drive from Past to Future? 50 years of ICOHTEC.” Our
intention is to inquire into long-term trends in interactions between
technology and society, as well as how technologies have influenced
utopian and dystopian views of the future. We aim to examine how the
role of technology has changed across history and what characters and
trends of technological change historians can help to anticipate in the
future. The value of memories of the past for the present and future has
been frequently discussed; the German theologian Albert Schweitzer claimed that “happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory”, whereas Spanish philosopher George Santayana argued that “those who do not know history's mistakes are doomed to repeat them.” The symposium intends to explore whether there is any possibility of solving the tension between history and future.
Since ICOHTEC will be celebrating its 50th
anniversary at this symposium, a special plenary session will reflect
on our organization’s stand-out contributions to the field over the last
fifty years, as well as looking ahead to explore new topics and
approaches. More details on this event will be announced on our website.
As
usual, the ICOHTEC Programme Committee welcomes papers on a wide range
of topics, especially the changing relations between technology and
society in the past and future. Session organisers and contributors of
individual papers and posters might also consider aligning their
proposals with the following non-exhaustive list of sub-themes:
Sub-themes
- Expressions of “technological momentum” in history
- The role of technology in the development of societies and in globalization
- Political authority and the power of technology: shaping technology under the pressures of society
- Regionalism and universalism of technology: can technology be constructed as neutral, independent of its contexts?
- Innovations and risks: relationships and interactions between technology and the environment
- Technology, culture, and landscape: borders and interfaces of natural and artificia
- Playing with technology and playful approaches to technology
- Media, communication and technology: mutual dependencies?
- The significance of technological heritage and material culture for the future
- The beauty of machines: art, design and culture in industry and technology
- Representations of technology and industry in utopias and dystopias, including speculative fiction and popular culture
- Heritage in the centennial commemorations of World War I: industry, technology, and the Great War
- Digitization and computerization: technological trends and social effects
The Programme Committee prefers
submissions of coherent session proposals of three to four papers,
although individual papers are welcomed. We also encourage poster
presentations, which will be exhibited for the duration of the
symposium. Each poster will be assigned a short time slot in a special
session, during which the presenter will briefly outline its topic and
have the opportunity to engage in discussion with delegates. Posters
might be a particularly appropriate medium for doctoral students and
museum curators as well as all those who want to draw attention to a
more focused topics or work-in-progress. Besides these types of
proposals, the Committee also encourages proposals in more
unconventional formats, for example roundtables on recent important
books or research issues, or panel discussions on films or other media
related to the history of technology.
Proposal Guidelines
Papers, sessions and poster proposals must be submitted in English.
INDIVIDUAL PAPER
proposals must include (1) a 200 – 300-word abstract, and (2) a
one-page biographical sketch. Abstracts should include the author’s name
and email address, a short descriptive title of the paper, a concise
statement of the thesis, a brief discussion of the sources, and a
summary of the major conclusions.
Presentations should be compact
analytical summaries of the author’s research. Oral presentations will
be of 15-20 minutes duration, depending on the exactly composition of
the panel, which is roughly equivalent to 5-7 double-spaced typed pages.
Contributors
are encouraged to submit full-length versions of their papers after the
symposium for consideration by ICOHTEC’s peer-reviewed journal ICON by 1 December 2018.
SESSION
proposals must include (1) a 300 – 400 word abstract of the session
with a list of proposed papers and a suggested chairperson; (2) 200 –
300 word abstracts for each paper, and (3) a one-page biographical
sketch for each contributor and chairperson. Sessions should consist of
three or four speakers, or three speakers and one commentator. It is
possible to propose several related sessions, which can take place over
more than one day. The Programme Committee reserves the right to
relocate papers to different sessions and to add papers to sessions. We
also encourage roundtable proposals and other non-traditional session
formats.
POSTER proposals must include (1) a 200 –
300-word abstract, and (2) a one-page biographical sketch. Abstracts
should include the author’s name and email address, a short descriptive
title, a concise statement of the thesis, a brief discussion of the
sources, and a summary of the major conclusions.
Note:
Membership of ICOHTEC is not required to participate in the symposium
but members will pay a reduced registration fee. We especially encourage
graduate students and early career scholars to participate in the
symposium and submit their proposals. A limited number of travel grants of 350 euro will be available for Ph.D. candidates and young researchers, who are giving papers at the Symposium.
Submission of proposals
All proposals (paper, sessions, and posters) must be submitted electronically through our website http://www.icohtec.org/annual-meeting-2018.html. The online submission system will remain open until 5 February 2018,
which marks the deadline for all categories of contribution. On this
website, you will also find all necessary instructions and guidelines on
how to prepare and submit a proposal as well as all kind of information
related to the event, such as travel grants announcements, calls for
panellists to planned sessions, programme of the symposium, suggestions
on accommodation and travel arrangements etc.