Over the last couple of years, historians of science and the humanities have taken great interest in projects related to Eastern, Central and South Eastern Europe and their global interconnectedness. However, opportunities for a joint discussion of such projects are rare and often rely on ad hoc initiatives. With this meeting we inaugurate a forum to discuss projects that link approaches from the history of science and the humanities with specific regional expertise.

Our seminar will bring together projects from history, sociology, literature, media studies etc. dealing with scientific endeavour and specific investigations in (academic) research, institutions, migration of knowledge etc. We will discuss perspectives on the local, regional, (post-)imperial or national frameworks of Eastern, Central and South Eastern Europe in the light of specific theoretical frames, and challenge methodological perspectives of these projects.

The seminar is open to all researchers focussing on the history of politics, materiality, and practices of (non-)academic research, discussing Eastern, Central and South Eastern Europe case studies in the broadest sense. To create a productive environment, we are particularly interested in discussing work in progress. Discussions will be based on texts from ongoing research projects, with opening expert commentaries. The reading material will be pre-circulated among all registered participants.

Organisers: Friedrich Cain (Univ. Erfurt), Bernhard Kleeberg (Univ. Erfurt), Jan Surman (IGITI/HSE Moscow)