Call for Papers

Doing The Global Intellectual History Of Social Movements

Date: 19 - 21 August 2021

Deadline: 28 May 2021

Organized by :

Ben Miller, Christian Jacobs (Graduate School Global Intellectual History, Freie Universität Berlin / Humboldt-Universität Berlin)

In the last decades, intellectual history has aimed to move away from its traditional focus on famous intellectuals as its main actors. The emergence of a "global" intellectual history further troubled the idea that (normatively white and male) professional intellectuals were the only people with ideas worth taking seriously. The global social movements of the 20th century –– labor movements, Communisms, movements for racial and gender justice, movements for sexual liberation, and conservative and reactionary movements organizing to preserve the status quo –– all of had evolving relationships with ideas and with the figure of "the intellectual" that belie any concept of ideas flowing from a professional intellectual outward into the fields of the social and the political. How can we research and write truly global intellectual histories of social movements?

We are pleased to invite you, with the support of the Global Intellectual History Graduate School in Berlin, to a workshop discussing the methodological, conceptual, and practical problems when dealing with the intellectual history of social movements from a global perspective. We are pleased to welcome as our keynote speaker Dr. Tiffany N. Florvil, Associate Professor of 20th-century European Women’s and Gender History at the University of New Mexico where she writes about Black intellectualism, internationalism, and gender. She is the author of Mobilizing Black Germany: Afro-German Women and the Making of a Transnational Movement (2020).

We invite papers of twenty minutes (3,000 words) which touch on, expand, or critique the premises of the following questions:

• How do we link quotidian intellectuals and “small” intellectual history to the broader history of ideas?

• How does the social history of intellectuals connect to global intellectual history as a field?

• What kinds of sources and archives are useful and how do we read them? How do we deal with activist writers whose ideas shift over time and are often written in unclear, fragmented, broken, or partial ways (as opposed to professional idea-havers whose ideas are often published in books with clear reception histories)?

• What is an intellectual and how do we think the intellectual more broadly – or should we avoid the category? How has "intellectual history's" vision of "the intellectual" been marked by race, class, and gender; and do global approaches undo or reinforce this? 

• How do we complicate the diffusionist idea of ideas flowing from the top down and understand how theory and intellectual practice – even, or especially, in imperfectly or incorrectly translated or understood forms – evolve across related social movements?

We want to make this workshop a place for an engaged discussion around shared questions and not a simple succession of presentations. Therefore, we will ask all presenters to attend all sessions of the workshop. We aim to create a safe, supportive, and collaborative environment in which to discuss work in progress: we would rather participants come with open questions than simply present finished work.

We invite graduate students, researchers, and independent scholars to submit an abstract of 300 words and a short CV by 28 May 2021 to Christian Jacobs (christian.jacobs@fu-berlin.de). Most likely, the conference will take place as an online event 19 – 21 August. However, in the unlikely case, the pandemic situation and travel restrictions allow we will consider hybrid or in person formats. Notices of acceptance will be sent by mid-June 2021. Participants will be asked to send their papers for precirculation two weeks before the conference.

Visiting Scholar Programme in Comparative/Transnational European History

The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences is currently seeking to recruit

VISITING SCHOLARS IN COMPARATIVE/TRANSNATIONAL EUROPEAN HISTORY, with a maximum grant period of 3 months, between 1 January 2022 and August 2023. The deadline for the applications is 31 May 2021.

The Visiting Scholar’s position is allocated to the Department of History and Ethnology and its Subject Area of History, with a focus on comparative/transnational European History.

The Visiting Scholar’s duties focus on research in the comparative/transnational history of modern or early modern Europe, particularly in the fields of political history, cultural history and/or the history of ideas. Along with conducting their research, Visiting Scholars are also invited to make limited contributions to teaching and research supervision in the Department, within their areas of expertise.

Qualifications we are looking for

The person appointed to the position is expected to carry out internationally high-level research in comparative/transnational European history. Primarily, we are looking for a person whose field of research is broadly related to historical research currently conducted in the department. Postdoctoral, early career and full professors are all encouraged to apply.

Candidates should have an excellent record of conducting and publishing scientific research and establishing international networks. Attention will be paid to the following: excellence in research; multi-faceted knowledge of comparative/transnational European history; versatile methodological expertise; experience in teaching and research supervision.

The successful applicant will contribute to the department's existing areas of strength, particularly in the comparative study of political cultures, postwar studies and/or gender studies, and/or extend them in new directions. She/he is also welcome to contribute to Academy Professor Pasi Ihalainen’s project “Political Representation: Tensions between Parliament and the People from the Age of Revolutions to the 21st Century”.

The person selected for this position is expected to be able to work in English. Very good English skills are thus required.

What does the University of Jyväskylä offer as an employer?

You become part of our international and multi-science community where the welfare of each individual is important. At Jyväskylä, we offer an attractive and lively campus area with opportunities to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle. To find useful information about the University of Jyväskylä, the City of Jyväskylä and living in Finland, see the University's International Staff Guide.

Short-term visitors for up to three months are paid a tax-free grant, the amount of which depends on the career stage of the Visiting Scholar: 3.000 euros/month for Post Doctoral Researchers, 4.500 euros/month for Associate Professors and 5.500 euros/month for Professors. The above-mentioned grant will also cover travel expenses to and from Jyväskylä and accommodation expenses, either in the university’s guest apartments or in a free-market apartment. Travel and accommodation costs will not be reimbursed separately. The University of Jyväskylä offers support if you wish to book one of the university’s guest apartments for your stay.

How to apply 

To apply for this position, the following documents must be submitted to the electronic recruiting system, in English: 

1. The application form;
2. A motivation letter;
3. A CV compiled in keeping with good scientific practice and considering, where possible, the template for a researcher´s curriculum vitae of the Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity (TENK);
4. A short (3-4 pages) explanation of the applicant’s research activities, merits in scientific work and the supervision of research, including a plan for research to be conducted during the visit to Jyväskylä;
5. A short (1-2 pages) explanation of the applicant’s international activities and experience in societal interaction;
6. A list of the applicant’s relevant scientific and other publications.

Please submit your application by 31 May 2021, using the online application form. 

For more information, please contact Head of Department Heli Valtonen, e-mail: heli.valtonen@jyu.fi, tel. +358 40 805 4897 or Professor Pertti Ahonen, e-mail: pertti.t.ahonen@jyu.fi tel. +358 40 805 4491.

Our naturally beautiful campus in the Jyväskylä city centre is home to a dynamic multidisciplinary research university – a modern, open and collaborative community of 2,500 experts and 15,000 students seeking answers to the pivotal questions of today and tomorrow.It was here, in 1863, that Finnish-language teacher education began. Since then, the University of Jyväskylä has been serving the future.The dialogue between research, education and society is our driving force.We cherish this balance of research and education, and work to promote open thinking. We kindle the skills, knowledge and passion to live wisely for the best of humanity.

The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences is a strong contributor to human sciences. It has a central role in understanding and developing human activities and the structures of society. The faculty is a unique, strongly profiled unit that conducts internationally significant research with societal impact. Research and education at the faculty focus on culture, arts, traditions, languages and communication, social sciences and philosophy.

Application form: https://rekry.saima.fi/certiahome/open_job_view.html?did=5600&jc=12&id=000010918&lang=fi