ERH Invitation for Contribution/tech

[SERGHIDOU ANASTASIA <sergidoa@xxxxxx>]

Dear colleagues,

A kind  invitation for Researchers for a contribution from Prof  
S.Hodkinson for the ERH


The European Review of History / Revue européenne d’histoire invites  
papers from classicists and historians of the wider ancient world for  
its 25th anniversary conference on 8-10 November 2018, ‘Academic  
Freedom in Historical Perspective’.
Papers may focus on:
·         challenges to freedom of enquiry faced by present or past  
academic classicists
·         historical issues of intellectual freedom in antiquity itself
·         appropriations of ancient challenges to intellectual freedom  
in modern debates about  academic freedom.

Deadline for proposals: 15 April 2018. For further information, see  
the detailed CFP below.

Stephen Hodkinson
Professor of Ancient History, Department of Classics and Archaeology,  
University of Nottingham, UK
Editorial Committee, European Review of History/ Revue Européene  
d’Histoire: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cerh20

***********

Academic Freedom in Historical Perspective
Twenty-Five Years of the European Review of History / Revue européenne  
d’histoire: An Anniversary Conference

Central European University, Budapest, 8-10 November 2018

Academic freedom is a central idea in modern scholarship. Even if a  
precise definition of it is difficult to state, it can be understood  
as the freedom for members of academia to teach and research without  
being restrained by political or social surveillance. The concept is  
not legally defined, it proceeds from customs, conventions or even  
traditions. Legally, discussions on academic freedom fall into the  
category of freedom of speech, even if this concept only partly  
corresponds.

When first created in the Middle Ages, universities were religious  
institutions. Throughout the centuries, they had to fight to escape  
the Churches’ influence. Modern universities created in the 19th  
century were both instruments of learning the new techniques of  
capitalism (in engineering, for example) and for the promotion of the  
new nation-state. They were instruments of nationalisms. In the 20th  
century, dictatorships and totalitarian regimes severely restricted  
any freedom in academic institutions. In the 21st century, academic  
freedom and freedom of speech can be found only in a few countries,  
mostly in liberal democracies. In many countries, it remains  
difficult, often dangerous, to criticise the rulers. Even in liberal  
democracies, academic freedom remains fragile and is never perfectly  
achieved. Neo-liberal governance of universities is a significant  
threat: academics are expected to follow the market-oriented,  
customer-satisfaction, impact-driven agendas of their employers.  
Rising bureaucracy and micro-management imposed on academics could  
also be a way of suppressing conflicting views. Critical thinking and  
freedom of expressions could also be restricted by students  
themselves. The recent emergence of ‘safe spaces’ on American  
campuses, in which students demand not to be challenged by conflicting  
views and/or by topics bearing on adverse personal circumstances which  
students have experienced in their lives, are examples of such a  
phenomenon. Identity politics and political correctness may also  
restrain debates.

The organisers of this conference welcome proposals on various  
relevant topics, not confined only to academic freedom in the strict  
sense, but to intellectual freedom more broadly. Presentations can  
cover any period in history or any country, including freedom of  
enquiry within intellectual contexts in eras before the creation of  
universities: for example, within the philosophical schools of  
Greco-Roman antiquity. Papers linking challenges to intellectual  
freedom in such eras to modern debates about academic freedom are also  
welcome.They could address the questions of university governance,  
institutional autonomy, the recruitment of academics. Purges following  
regime changes can be considered. Legal aspects are of interest to  
this conference, together with case studies of academics exposed to  
persecution, harassment, ostracisation or legal action because of  
their pursuit of knowledge in teaching and research, whether in  
democracies or in authoritarian states.

Keynote speakers: Olivier Beaud (University of Paris 2  
Panthéon-Assas); Paula Findlen (Stanford University); Oleg Kharkhordin  
(European University, St. Petersburg)

The organisers of the conference welcome individual proposals of no  
more than 300 words. They should be sent with a brief biography of no  
more than 200 words. For roundtable proposals please send a maximum  
500-word description of the panel. Proposals should be sent to Andrea  
Talabér (andrea.talaber@xxxxxx) before 15 April 2018. Proposers will  
be notified by 12 June 2018. Conference language: English.

Participants are generally expected to cover their own travel and  
accommodation costs, though limited support may be available upon  
request for those without access to institutional funding.

Conference organizers (on behalf of the ERH/Reh editorial committee):  
Jean-Marc Dreyfus (University of Manchester), László Kontler (Central  
European University), Agne Rimkute (Central European University),  
Andrea Talabér (Masaryk Institute and Archives of the Czech Academy of  
Sciences, Prague), Bertrand Taithe (University of Manchester), Karin  
Tilmans (European University Institute)














Anastasia D. Serghidou,M.A,PhD (EHESS)
Ass.Prof.Ancient History
History Department
Rethymnon
University of Crete

Office 36 ( former tel: 2831077352)
Tel. 28310 77352 (Dpmt.Secretary)
Fax. 28310 77338 (Dpmt.Secretary)


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