Disciplines of Knowing in the Early Modern World

The CFP for Scientiae Toronto 2015 (27-29 May) is now available online. Paper, panel, and round-table proposals are invited for the fourth annual international conference on the emergent knowledge practices of the early-modern period (1450-1750). The major premise of this conference is that knowledge during the period of the Scientific Revolution was inherently interdisciplinary, involving complex mixtures of practices and objects which had yet to be separated into their modern “scientific” hierarchies. Our approach, therefore, needs to be equally wide-ranging, involving Biblical exegesis, art theory, logic, and literary humanism; as well as natural philosophy, alchemy, occult practices, and trade knowledge. Attention is also given to mapping intellectual geographies through the tools of the digital humanities. Always, our focus must be on the subject-matter at hand, rather than on the disciplinary performances by which we access it. Although centred around the emergence of modern natural science, Scientiae is intended for scholars working in any area of early-modern intellectual culture.

Abstracts for individual papers of 20 minutes should be between 250 and 350 words in length. For panel sessions of 1 hour and 30 minutes, a list of speakers and chair (with affiliations), a 500-word panel abstract, and individual abstracts from each speaker are required. Newly at Scientiae 2015, we also invite proposals for a limited number of topic-based roundtable sessions. These should feature brief presentations from 2 or 3 knowledgeable speakers on a defined but broad issue in early-modern intellectual history, with the intention of opening up multilateral discussion from the floor—the main business of the session.

All submissions should be made using the online form here.

We are delighted to announce our call for papers for publication of a special issue of Nuncius, Journal of the material and visual history of science. Vittoria Feola is the volume editor. Given the multidisciplinary nature of Scientiae, submission of abstracts are encouraged about the history of early modern medicine as well as about any other history of science-related topics. Nuncius is strong in the material and visual culture of science. Articles may contain pictures. A total of 7 abstracts will be selected and, subject to the editor’s judgement in accordance with blind peer-reviewing, will be published.

The work schedule is as follows:

Deadline for abstract selection: 15 July 2014
Articles due: 15 March 2015
By September 2015 blind referees’ reports will be circulated.
By 5 November 2015 final submissions will be due.
Early 2016, publication.

Non-native English speaking authors must have their abstracts and articles professionally proofread prior to their submission to Vittoria Feola. In other words, Vittoria Feola will not check the English of abstracts and articles, because she, as volume editor, is only responsible for the scientific content of the volume.

Abstracts for selection must be max 400 words.

Articles must be max 10,000 words including footnotes and may not exceed a total of 24 pages including pictures. One page is made up of 420 words footnotes included. One picture counts as one page. Authors must pay for copyright and reproduction rights where applicable. Please note the Brill submission guidelines.

Please email abstracts no later than 15 July 2014 to [email protected].

The Call for Papers for Scientiae 2014 in Vienna (23-25 April 2014) is now available online. Abstracts for individual papers of 25 minutes should be between 250 and 350 words in length. For panel sessions of 1 hour and 45 minutes, a list of speakers (with affiliations), as well as a 500-word abstract, is required. Roundtable discussions or other formats may be accepted at the discretion of the organizing committee. All applicants are also required to submit a brief biography of 150 words of less. Abstracts must be submitted through our online submission form.

If you have any questions, please contact the conference convenor, Vittoria Feola ([email protected]).

Shadows of the Mind: Discourses of Superstition and Nature in the Early Modern World

Special Issue of Preternature

Edited by James A.T. Lancaster and Richard Raiswell

The advent of novel approaches in early modernity to understanding and mastering nature—from natural magic, to natural history, to natural philosophy—motivated discourse about how best to distill true knowledge (vera scientia) from an increasing body of claims about the natural world. The need to develop a language with which to frame this discourse naturally led magicians, alchemists, historians, and philosophers to turn to that facet of society which already possessed the terminology necessary to deal with epistemological deviation; namely, the Christian religion. The adoption of traditionally religious terms such as “idol,” “vanity,” and “superstition” by investigators of nature afforded the opportunity to differentiate claims to true knowledge, at the same time as it facilitated virulent attacks between rival cultures of knowledge. Beyond the merely rhetorical, though, this process of adoption began to shift the established semantic landscape of early modernity. The very act of employing such religious terms within the context of the inquiry into nature infused them with new meanings; meanings which contributed, in turn, to the myriad new ways in which Europeans began to view both themselves and the world around them. Of particular importance was the notion of “superstition” (superstitio). More than many other terms, the meaning of superstition began an extensive transformation from its traditional sense of incorrect beliefs within the sphere of religion to incorrect beliefs within the sphere of nature. Discourses of superstition entered into numerous debates about the study of nature: they contributed to the development of definable relationships between the natural and the preternatural, for instance; helped to map new models of the mind and legitimize the practitioners of new, naturalistic vocations; and underwrote emergent ideas of “progress,” “advancement,” and “enlightenment” in tandem with beliefs about the nature of the (preter)natural.

This special issue of Preternature seeks papers which address shifting conceptualizations of “superstition” as it relates to both the natural and preternatural in the early modern period. Papers should examine the ways in which various discourses of superstition contributed to the emergence of new cultures of natural and preternatural knowledge, thereby helping to shape the early modern world.

Topics might include, but are not limited to:

• The various ways in which the study of nature came to be conceived as a remedy for the apparent spread of superstition in the post-Reformation period.
• How the concept of superstition was altered by emerging definitions of “true” and “false” knowledge with regards to the natural world.
• How the idea of superstition contributed to the creation of a definable relationship between the natural world and the preternatural.
• Whether new ways of thinking about nature ultimately led to the trivialization of superstition and superstitions.
• The use of discourses of superstition in defense of natural magic, demonology, witchcraft, and the occult, etc.
• The relationship between ideas of “progress,” “advancement,” “enlightenment” and superstition in early modern cultures of knowledge.

Contributions should usually be 8,000 - 12,000 words, including all documentation and critical apparatus. However, exceptions can be made in certain circumstances. If accepted for publication, manuscripts will be required to adhere to the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition (style 1, employing footnotes).

Final papers will be due 15 January 2014. Submissions should be made through the journal’s online submission module at: www.preternature.org.