Things on the Move

The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were defined by increased globalization, the growth of empires outside Europe, the emergence of global markets, and the establishment of colonial rule in many parts of the world. As recent scholarship has shown, an amplified movement of people - both voluntary and involuntary - and of objects in space and time was at the very core of these processes. This conference will focus on the movement of material objects and analyse the significance of their mobility in this period of great transformation.

Studying objects and their trajectories in space and time allows us to analyse how objects produce, carry, and change their meanings over time and in different situations. How did – and do - objects shape everyday practices and impact on events and structures in wider geographical and cultural contexts? Focusing on both structures and everyday practices, newer approaches like global microhistory create an awareness of how developments are interlinked on both a macro and a micro scale, especially with regard to the interconnected histories of material practices.

The conference will analyse the significance of a global material mobility at a time of great transformation between the early modern and the modern period. It will focus on objects and their trajectories a) from a global history and from a global microhistory perspective, b) from the perspective of colonial history, and c) particularly on their intersection.

Die Konferenz wird in englischer Sprache abgehalten.

Für die Teilnahme an der Veranstaltung ist eine Anmeldung bis zum 15. August 2022 per Mail an k.koenig@ghil.ac.uk erforderlich.