European
University at Saint-Petersburg, November 1–2, 2021
In recent
years “transfer” has gradually evolved into an umbrella term in the humanities
and social sciences. In their works scholars describe or analyze “cultural
transfer” (Espagne 2013, Middell 2020), “technology transfer” (Hughes, &
Pinch, 1987), etc. The increase of scholarly interest in transfers, in turn,
has led to an expansion of research in the fields of technological, political and
economic history. But this has also led to the fact that instances of transfers
have become divided into narrow cases. For example, economic and technological
transfers are studied separately within the fields of economic history and
history of technologies, respectively (Davids, 2016). Authors who tackle the
issues of cultural transfer also work in different disciplinary subfields:
literary studies (Lüsebrink 2008, Roland 2016), translation studies (Göpferich
2007, Roig-Sanz & Meylaerts 2018), cultural history (Espagne 2013, Middell
2014). Yet because transfers overlap (Werner & Zimmerman 2003),
interdisciplinary investigations of transfers can lead to rethinking of
agencies and channels that enable the former. For example, technical
specialists working abroad are carriers of professional knowledge and
simultaneously agents of sociocultural practices. The transfer of architectural
and urban planning may also simultaneously include political, cultural, and
technological transfers, in municipal government, art and construction areas.
Some issues
that we would like to discuss within the wider framework of the conference that
focuses on the transfer history include (but are not limited to) (1) linearity,
(2) compatibility of transfers with other approaches and methods, (3)
problematization of the concept of border.
What is the
specificity of the transfer methodology versus the specificity of a concrete
historical case? Which methodological approaches could one borrow from other
disciplines? How should one study transfers beyond Western European context
(e.g., in the Russian / Soviet or Chinese context)? How should one analyze and
approach the nonlinearity and asymmetry of the transfer processes given
different space-time continua? What measurable transformations took place
during the transfer (hybridization, modification, adaptation, etc.)?
Contact
Info:
Mikhail Krom, Professor of Comparative Studies in History,
and Karina Khasnulina, PhD Student, Department of History, European
University at Saint-Petersburg.
Contact
Email: transferscon@gmail.com
URL: https://eusp.org/en/news/call-for-papers-comparative-history-days-2021-cultural-technological-transfers-in-global-and-co...