[Bilimsel Haber] CFP: "Reference Cultures and Imagined Empires in Western History: Global Perspectives, 1815-2000, " Utrecht U, June 11-13, 2014.

[Gonul Pultar]

Reference Cultures and Imagined Empires in Western History:

Global Perspectives, 1815-2000
11-13 June 2014

Utrecht University, Netherlands

Call for Papers

This conference explores the concept of reference culture as a way to 
approach the cultural dimensions of territorial and non-territorial 
power. By studying reference cultures we want to draw attention to the 
fact that cultures may assume a role as benchmark or model, both 
positive and negative, in the international circulation of ideas and 
practices.

Reference cultures offer a model that other cultures may imitate, adapt, 
or resist. In contrast to essentialist and territorial concepts such as 
empire and nation, the idea of reference cultures allows us to address 
the shifting subjectivities central to cultural encounters. We take 
reference cultures to be mental constructs or "cognitive maps" that do 
not necessarily represent a geopolitical reality with an internal 
hierarchy and recognizable borders. They may take the form of imagined 
empires and may also be informed by utopian visions or mythological 
pasts. Such reference societies are typically established and negotiated 
in public discourse over a long period of time.

The academic discussion suggests that the interplay of political and 
economic supremacy with the "soft power" of cultural attraction and 
reputation plays a crucial role in how certain cultures establish 
guiding standards for other cultures. Historical examples such as the 
Dutch Republic in the Golden Age, nineteenth-century Great Britain, 
twentieth-century America---and perhaps twenty-first-century 
China---point to the importance of reference cultures.

This conference aims to open up this new field of historical inquiry by 
exploring the role of these transcultural models within western history 
in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This includes transatlantic 
history as well as the complex cultural relations between the West and 
"the Rest". We encourage papers that explore and interrogate the concept 
of "reference cultures" by investigating its theoretical and empirical 
validity, or by exploring concrete historical examples of transnational 
or trans-local referencing, cultural adaption/hybridization, or resistance.

The conference aspires to open an interdisciplinary exploration of 
"reference cultures". We warmly welcome a dialogue with ongoing debates 
in relevant academic fields such as European studies, American studies, 
cultural history, empire studies, postcolonial studies, literary 
studies, history of science, transfer studies, and comparative history. 
Methodologically, we are interested both in conventional historical 
approaches and in approaches based on digital humanities.

Participants are encouraged to discuss the various manifestations of 
reference cultures during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, such as:

·         the hegemonic cultures of nineteenth and twentieth-century 
empires as for example Great Britain, the United States ("the American 
Century"), Austria-Hungary, Soviet Union, and Germany;

·         (post-)colonial cultures, of both the colonizers (ranging from 
France to Japan) and the colonized (since the periphery may well act as 
point of reference for the center);

·         Historical reference cultures, such as ancient Rome, ancient 
India, or ancient China;

·         Mythical and/or utopian cultures, as represented in the 
Promised Land, Atlantis, narrative utopias, or dystopias in science fiction;

·         Self-declared models, including French universalité or 
laicité, American Exceptionalism, Indonesian Pancasila, South American 
Bolivarianism.

Conference participants are expected to cover their own travel and hotel 
expenses, and the conference fee of EUR75. Since a selection of the 
papers will be published in an edited volume, we request that all papers 
are based on original work that has not been published previously. Those 
interested in presenting a paper are kindly requested to submit a 
250-word abstract for 20-minute papers (indicating any 
equipment/technical requirements) and a brief biographical note by 16 
February 2014 to dr. Pim Huijnen (p.huijnen at uu.nl 
<mailto:p.huijnen at uu.nl>) or dr. Jaap Verheul (j.verheul at uu.nl 
<mailto:j.verheul at uu.nl>), History Department, Utrecht University, the 
Netherlands.


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