Does Technology drive History?
Theoretical Concepts and Historical Examples

Target participants:
PhD students and recent post-doctoral researchers
Early career researcher and professionals with a subject-relevant academic background
Mon 16 July to Tue 17 July, 2017 (Part 1)
Wed 18 to Sat 21 July, 2017 (Part 2)

History of Technology
History of Science
Economic and Social History
Environmental History

Fee of the Summer school only:
50 Euro (After 31 May: 60 €)
Fee of Summer school & Symposium:
125 Euro (After 31 May: 155 €)

These ICOHTEC’s registration fees include participation services, lunches and pass for local public transportation. Students will be lodged at the Jean Monnet University’s Halls of Residence at their own cost (34 euro/night). A limited number of ICOHTEC travel grants will be available for Summer School participants and they cover part of travel costs from regions outside France.

Applications will be accepted by email until 5th March, 2018. The results of selection will be announced to the applicants by 31st March 2018.

Objectives

The Second ICOHTEC Summer School will combine the 45th ICOHTEC Symposium
with a two-day intensive seminar course geared to PhD students and young post-doctoral scholars. The Summer School brings together conventional seminars and the participation in the ICOHTEC Symposium. The topic of the ICOHTEC Summer School is "Does Techno-logy drive History? Theoretical Concepts and Historical Examples." It aims at taking stock of the current state of theoretical approaches in the history of technology such as technological determinism, Large Technological Systems (LTS), Social Construction of Technology (SCOT), Actor Network Theory (ANT) and cultural history or concepts of a transnational and global history of technology. The Summer School aims to approach its theme open-mindedly and multidisciplinarily.
The Summer School aim to deal with responding to the following questions:
- How are technology and social change interconnected?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the above mentioned theoretical concepts as heuristic and analytical tools for investigating diverse issues in the history of technology?
- Is it feasible and beneficial to combine some of those concepts in the same research project?
- What could new and original approaches to the history of technology look like?

Lecturers

Francesca Bray
Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Edinburgh, UK
Past President, Society for the History of Technology (SHOT)

Michel Cotte
Emeritus professor of the History of Technology
Centre François Viète
University of Nantes, France
President of the French Society of the History of Science and Technology

David Edgerton
Hans Rausing Professor of the History of Science and Technology
Professor of Modern British History
Department of History
King's College London, UK

Description

The ICOHTEC Summer School consists of two parts:

Part 1. Interactive discussion seminars

Objectives of the School include discussions of: daily lectures, students’ research papers distributed in advance, and appropriate methodological and theoretical approaches to the research themes under examination. Expert tutors will moderate these discussions in small groups. A joint feedback colloquium will end the School.

Part 2. Active attendance in the ICOHTEC Symposium
Students of the Summer School are expected to participate in the ICOHTEC Symposium and its scientific sessions according to their personal tailor-made schedules.

All students who complete the programme will receive an attendance
certificate.

For whom is the programme?

- Ph.D. students with a subject-appropriate academic background.
- Post-doctoral researchers with a subject-appropriate academic background

Participants are expected to
- be able to speak, read and write in English.
- undertake preparatory reading in advance of the programme.
- attend all lectures and seminar sessions.
- be actively engaged with the topics of the sessions.
- attend the ICOHTEC 2018 Symposium and present a paper there as a single or co-author.
- submit a final assignment of 2,000-2,500 words on one of the topics discussed in the Summer School within six weeks after the summer school.

Application for this course:

- Deadline for application: 5 March, 2018.
- Applicants must send the following data by email file attachments to Hans-Joachim Braun, hjbraun@hsu-hh.de :
1) A brief one-page cv, which must include the main personal data, academic training and career, selected publications and e-mail for further contact.
2) A short statement of purpose (350-400 words) detailing your academic reasons for wishing to attend the summer school. This should include your expectations what you hope to get out of the summer school and its education, and what you are likely to contribute to the intellectual life of the summer school. This may include details of history, political or social science courses you have previously taken, or the relevance of the summer school to your present course of study or professional development. If you are preparing a thesis or research paper at the moment, please write a brief description of it. Include also the title of your possible paper submission to the ICOHTEC Symposium, which follows the Summer School (Further information: icohtec.org/annual-meeting-2018.html).
3) A letter of recommendation by your teacher or supervisor, referring to your application to the ICOHTEC Summer School.

The subject line of the email should be "Summer School Application" and in the titles of your file attachments mark your surname first and then the title of the file (e.g. Smith_CV).

Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered.
After you have submitted your application, you will receive a response by 31 March 2018.

Members of the Summer School Committee

Hans-Joachim Braun (chair), Germany
Maria Elvira Callapez, Portugal
Michel Cotte, France
Timo Myllyntaus, Finland
Klaus Staubermann, UK