"After Hobsbawm: History in the 21st Century" - a conference organised by Birkbeck, University of London and the Past & Present Society
(PRWEB UK) 6 March 2014 -- The world’s most eminent historians will gather in London from 29 April – 1 May 2014 to consider the place of history in the 21st century, at a conference organised by Birkbeck, University of London and the Past & Present Society, in memory of Professor Eric Hobsbawm.
Professor Hobsbawm, who died in October 2012, was one of the 20th century’s leading historians. His work had a worldwide impact on the way that history is taught, studied and developed, and his writing opened up the study of class and social history, in an academic tradition that had previously focused on the lives and fortunes of those in power. Hobsbawm taught at Birkbeck for over 60 years and was a founding member of the Past & Present society.
The History After Hobsbawm conference, set to be one of the most significant international events for historians this year, will have no specialised geographical or chronological focus, but will aim to answer the question: What does it mean to be an historian in the 21st century?
Dr Jan Rüger, one of the conference convenors, described the conference as a stock-taking exercise. He said: “Professor Hobsbawm left us with an incredible legacy. His impact on the study of history can hardly be overestimated. As socially-engaged historians, and Eric’s former colleagues, it felt like the right time to hold this conference which will enable us to engage with the question of where the discipline is headed and what it means to be a historian in the 21st century."
The line-up of speakers incorporates many of the top names within the discipline, including Mark Mazower (Columbia), Catherine Hall (UCL), Peter Burke (Cambridge) Maya Jasanoff (Harvard), Rana Mitter (Oxford), Emma Rothschild (Harvard/Cambridge) and Geoff Eley (Michigan).
Panels will cover the following topics:
• Capitalism
• Frameworks of historical explanation
• The Crisis of the 17th Century
• Protest and Rebels in Modern Times
• Britain, Empire, Europe
• What happened to class?
• Global environmental history
• Latin America
• Marxist and post-Marxist social history
• Nationalisms
Bryony Merritt, Birkbeck, University of London, +44 2073803133, [email protected]
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