The Politics of Paper in the early modern world
9-10 JUNE 2016, Groningen, The Netherlands
For questions about registration, the registration module, travel or accommodations please contact the
Groningen Congresbureau (infoATgcb.nl). Please mention the conference name in your email.
For a downloadable program (pdf), click here or scroll to bottom.
For further information email politicsofpaperATgmail.com.
Conference venue: Van Swinderen Huys, Oude Boteringestraat 19
Workshop venue: Academiegebouw, Broerstraat 5, rooms A2 & A3 Cocktails venue: GRID Grafisch Museum Groningen, Sint Jansstraat 2 Conference dinner: Restaurant 't Feithhuis, Martinikerkhof 10 Excursion venue: De Schoolmeester paper mill, Westzaan |
Pre-Conference Optional Hands-On Workshops!
Wednesday, 8 June 2016 Academiegebouw, Broerstraat 5, Groningen Register to attend via the conference website. There is no charge for these workshops. 19.00-21.00 Strokes on the Paper: Early Modern Calligraphy Workshop (room A2) Diego Navarro Bonilla (University Carlos III of Madrid, Spain) Always wanted to try your hand at medieval or early modern scripts? Ever wondered what the creation of the documents you study entailed? How did early modern scribes do it? Can you do it? This calligraphy workshop offers a hands-on approach to the materiality of early modern writing on paper. Participants will have the opportunity to learn and practice three key medieval and early modern scripts: Carolingian, Gothic, Textura, and Humanistic Cursive. For more information see www.diegonavarrobonilla.com. 19.00-21.00 Signed, Sealed, and Undelivered: Early Modern Letterlocking (room A3) David van der Linden (University of Groningen, The Netherlands) Hidden away in the vaults of the Museum voor Communicatie in The Hague lies a trunk containing 3,000 letters written mostly in French and despatched to The Hague between 1680 and 1706, none of which were ever delivered. The trunk and its contents belonged to Simon de Brienne and his wife Maria Germain, jointly responsible for delivering all mail from France. The trunk opens up new and exciting possibilities for historical research, exploring not just the letters’ contents, but also their material form. As the letters have been preserved in their folded state, we are able to study the manifold ways of folding and document security in the early modern period – what is called “letterlocking.” This workshop will introduce the history of this “accidental archive,” the figure of Simon de Brienne, and the international postal network that connected The Hague to France. Central will be a hands-on workshop on “letterlocking” practices, inviting participants to write, fold, and seal their own letters based on original formats from the Brienne collection. |
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conference schedule
Thursday 9 June 2016
Van Swinderen Huys, Oude Boteringestraat 19, Groningen
8.30-9.00 Coffee & Registration (Brasserie/Patio)
9.00-9.30 Welcome (Glazen Zaal) 1) Prof. dr. Gerry Wakker, Dean of the Faculty of Arts (University of Groningen) 2) Megan K. Williams (University of Groningen) 9.30-10.30 Plenary I: Theme Paper as Circulating Material Artifact (Glazen Zaal) Jonathan Bloom, Norma Jean Calderwood University Professor of Islamic and Asian Art, Boston College and Hamad bin Khalifa Endowed Chair in Islamic Art, Virginia Commonwealth University, USA 10.30-11.00 Coffee (Brasserie/Patio) MA Student Poster Presentations (Glazen Zaal) |
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11.00-12.30 Panels I
I.-A. The Politics of the Paper Trade (Glazen Zaal)
Chair: Prof. dr. Raingard Esser (Dept. of History, University of Groningen)
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I.-B. Paper Letters: Materiality and Epistolarity (Bestuurskamer)
Chair: Prof. dr. Sabrina Corbellini (Dept. of History, University of Groningen)
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I.-C. Company Paper
(Club Lounge) Chair: Dr. Ya-Pei Kuo (Dept. of History, University of Groningen)
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12.30-14.00 Lunch (Brasserie/Patio)
14.00-15.00 Plenary II: Theme Paper in the News, Post & Epistolary Cultures (Glazen Zaal) The Taming of White Space Andrew Pettegree, Prof. of Modern History and Director of the Universal Short Title Catalogue, University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK 15.00-15.30 Coffee (Brasserie/Patio) MA Student Poster Presentations (Glazen Zaal) |
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15.30-17.00 Panels II
II.-A. Plotting on Paper: the Politics of Placards, Pamphlets and the Post (Bestuurskamer)
Chair: Dr. John Flood (Dept. of English, University of Groningen)
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II.-B. Princely Power on Paper (Glazen Zaal)
Chair: Prof. dr. Luis Lobo-Guerrero (Dept. of International Relations, University of Groningen)
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II-C. 'State' Papers and Archival Origins (Club Lounge)
Chair: Prof. dr. Goffe Jensma (Dept. of Frisian Language and Literature, University of Groningen)
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17.00-17.45 Keynote I (Glazen Zaal) "Burn after reading": Paper and the rise of resident diplomacy in early modern Europe Megan K. Williams (University of Groningen) 18.15-19.15 Cocktails at the Grafisch Museum Groningen (GRID) This reception is generously sponsored by the University of Groningen, the Municipality of Groningen and the Province of Groningen. |
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Friday 10 June 2016
Van Swinderen Huys, Oude Boteringestraat 19, Groningen
8.30-9.00 Coffee and Registration (Brasserie/Patio)
9.00-10.00 Plenary III: Theme Paper in Governance, Diplomacy, and Information-Management (Glazen Zaal) How Colbert Kept the Books: Paperwork and the Mechanics of the French Absolutist State Jacob Soll, Prof. of History and Accounting, University of Southern California, USA 10.00-10.30 Coffee (Brasserie/Patio) MA Student Poster Presentations (Glazen Zaal) |
10.30-12.00 Panels III
III-A. Consuming Paper in the City (Bestuurskamer)
Chair: Prof. dr. Catrien Santing (Dept. of History, University of Groningen)
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III.-B. Information Management on the Paper Page (Club Lounge)
Chair: Prof. dr. Mark Thompson (Dept. of American Studies, University of Groningen)
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III.-C. Governance and Paper(work) (Glazen Zaal)
Chair: Prof. dr. W.J. van Bekkum (Dept. of Middle Eastern Studies, University of Groningen)
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12.00-13.30 Lunch (Brasserie/Patio)
13.30-15.00 Plenary IV: Theme Paper in the Archives and in Archival Practices (Glazen Zaal) Roundtable on Paper in the Archives and in Archival Practices Eric Ketelaar (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands) Diego Navarro Bonilla (University Carlos III of Madrid, Spain) Hilde de Weerdt (Leiden University, The Netherlands) 15.00-15.30 Coffee (Brasserie/Patio) MA Student Poster Presentations (Glazen Zaal) |
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15.30-17.00 Panels IV
IV-A. Disposable Memories?: Keeping & Destroying Paper (Glazen Zaal)
Chair: Drs. Gerda C. Huisman (Curator, Special Collections, University Library, University of Groningen)
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IV-B. Paper Propaganda: Managing Memory in Political Books (Bestuurskamer)
Chair: A.D.M. van de Haar (Dept. of Historical Dutch Literature, University of Groningen)
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IV-C. War & Peace... and Paper (Club Lounge)
Chair: TBA
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17.00-18.00 Concluding Keynote (Glazen Zaal) Lothar Müller, Humboldt-Universität / Süddeutsche Zeitung, Germany 18.00-18.15 Concluding Remarks & Discussion of Publication Plans (Glazen Zaal) Megan K. Williams (University of Groningen, The Netherlands) 18.30- Conference Dinner Restaurant 't Feithhuis, Martinikerkhof 10, Groningen |
Saturday, 11 June 2016
Optional excursion to the 17th-century paper-mill
De Schoolmeester
7.30 Bus departure from Groningen, Grote Markt (by VVV Tourist Bureau)
Division into two groups of up to 25 persons 10.00 Arrival at De Schoolmeester, Westzaan 10.00-11.00 Tour of De Schoolmeester -- Group 1 10.15-10.45 Coffee and Cake at De Prins restaurant, Westzaan -- Group 2 11.00-12.00 Tour of De Schoolmeester -- Group 2 11.15-11.45 Coffee and Cake at De Prins restaurant, Westzaan -- Group 1 11.45 Bus collects both groups and departs for Schiphol Airport 12.15/12.30 Arrival Schiphol Airport & Train Station (connections to flights, national/international trains) Sack lunch provided in bus for those returning to Groningen ca. 15.30 Arrival back in Groningen , Grote Markt (by the VVV Tourist Bureau) |