[H-verkko] CFP: Agency and State Building in the 16th and 17th centuries

[agricola at utu.fi]

Agricolan artikkelipyyntöihin on lähetetty uusi ilmoitus:
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Agency and State Building in the 16th and 17th centuries
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2nd Call for Papers

13th-15th of November 2013, Department of History and Ethnology, University of
Jyväskylä, Finland

The aim of the conference is to provide new insights into the state building
process in the Early Modern period by bringing a new “personal level” to the
much-debated state building process, which has so far been mainly studied from a
structural perspective as a top-down or bottom-up model. During the early modern
years, many far-reaching administrative reforms were carried out, and European
monarchies developed into a prime example of the early modern "power-state". But
was state building a more diversified and personalized process than has
previously been assumed? Many individuals – noblemen, office-holders, etc. –
were also crucially important to the process, and the development itself was not
a straightforward progression but fundamentally intertwined with the abilities
and activities of these “lower-level” actors.

In the Early Modern period, the private and the public were often closely
intertwined. By researching individual lives or careers, it is possible to take
a look at the period ‘from below’ without forgetting the broader context.
The personal approach allows researchers to identify the difficulties, setbacks
and missteps with which the state administration had to deal. In addition, this
approach makes it possible to study how personal power and institutional power
were interwoven. Research from the point of view of personal agency has long
remained in the shadow of structures and institutions. With this approach, light
can be shed on numerous important questions regarding the nature of
administration and the possibilities of state formation.

Proposals that address any configuration of ‘Personal Agency and State
Building’ are welcomed from all disciplines. Those interested in a presenting
paper at the conference are invited to submit a proposal to
personalagency2013 at gmail.com by the 30st of September, 2013. Proposals should
include the following: the participant’s name and affiliation (if applicable),
a title and 300-word abstract, email and contact information, and A/V requests
for the presentation (we recommend using Power Point).

Keynote speakers

Øysten Rian, Professor of Early Modern History at University of Oslo

Andy Wood, Professor of Social History at University of Durham

Raine Koskimaa, Professor of Contemporary Culture at University of Jyväskylä

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Ilmoituksen lähetti: Marko Hakanen <marko.hakanen at jyu.fi>
Ilmoitus vanhentuu: 4.10.2013
Lisätietoja WWW-osoitteesta: http://personalagency.blogspot.fi/