Call for Papers
Main Session: ANOTHER (HI)STORY OF MODERNITY: URBAN EVERYDAY LIFE IN THE 19TH CENTURY, EUROPE WEST - EUROPE EAST
Seventh International Conference on Urban History
Athens-Piraeus 27-30 October 2004
Deadline for proposal submissions: 1 October 2003.
What do we consider to be the signs of Modernity, in the everyday life in particular, while reading a town? When and how did they become visible in different countries and regions of Europe? What impact did they have on the mentality of the people? To answer these questions, and to raise new ones, the session will welcome both theoretical papers and case studies that use the category of everydayness as a historical optic to widen our understanding of the process of becoming modern as it was experienced throughout Europe, both in the West and in the East. This will facilitate comparisons that aim to outline similarities as well as differences between European cities and to analyse their possible causes.
Fully aware of the "all-embracity" of the term everyday life, we would like to concentrate on the public sphere. At the same time, our interest is directed mainly - but not exclusively - to the nineteenth century, that is, the time when processes of transition from traditional to modern industrial society in Europe reached their zenith. Differences that can be observed between the public lives of people coming from various social strata, ethnicity, age, gender, etc., provide a wide range of possible directions of inquiry. Nevertheless, a few focal points of orientation may be suggested:
- Stage: The role of places and institutions for the appearance of the modern public sphere
- Actors and standards: The emergence of new social strata as well as new cultural standards, which were central for defining their position in society
- Continuity and change: "Accommodation" of new ways of life within given constellations
If you are interested in participating please e-mail an abstract of your paper (up to 500 words) and a brief CV to the session organisers: