The history of humankind is a story of continuous innovation and rejection of innovation, from prehistory to the present. New technologies were introduced in agricultural production, new materials, processes and implements came into use in handicrafts and industry, new forms of physical and intellectual communication were invented and new networks of interaction between communities were put into practice. At the same time, communities of varying size increasingly relied on passing these now established methods and beliefs from one generation to the next, using these traditions and heritage as a resource for survival and for creating a variety of identities.
The description and explanation for all these processes and their dynamic interplay has long been a task of historical studies, and has remained on the agenda of historians, art historians, archaeologists, and cultural heritage professionals down to the present. Significantly, modern historiography has been particularly concerned with the ambiguities of the very concepts of tradition and innovation, pointing especially to the processes of construction (e.g. “invented traditions”) and transmission (“networks,” “transfers” and “entanglements”) that shaped them.
The Department of History and the Department of Medieval Studies at Central European University in Budapest invite undergraduate students to rethink the manifestations and roles of tradition and innovation in history at the “Tradition and Innovation in Historical Perspective” Undergraduate Conference, which is scheduled for August 3-6, 2017. The departments invite proposals for papers from undergraduates around the world who are interested in any aspect of tradition and innovation in a historical perspective. Proposals from all thematic areas (social history, economic history, military history, political history, cultural history, history of material culture, gender history, religious history, intellectual history, cultural heritage studies, art history, archaeology, and so on) and all historical periods will be considered. Preference, however, will be given to proposals with interesting approaches and well defined research questions, objectives, and results.
THURSDAY, 3 AUGUST, 2017:
- During the day: arrival at the CEU Residence Center
- 16:00 Welcome at the CEU Residence Center, Short instruction into Budapest public transport and transfer to CEU (Kerepesi)
- 16.30 Registration at CEU
- 18:00 Welcome addresses by the Heads of Departments of History and Medieval Studies (Auditorium)
- 18:30 Keynote lecture and discussion; Alice Mathea Choyke: The Malleable Animal: Innovation, Transformation ̶ Acceptance and Rejection
- 20:00 Welcome Reception
FRIDAY, 4 AUGUST, 2016:
- 9:00 Panels 1
- 10:30 Coffee break
- 11:00 Panels 2
- 12:30 Lunch Break
- 14:30 Panels 3
- 16:00 Refreshment
- 17:00 Walking tour/ CEU Library tour/visit to OSA
- 20:00 Night out in Budapest (“ruin pubs”)
SATURDAY, 5 AUGUST, 2016
- 9:00 Panels 4
- 10:30 Coffee Break
- 11:00 Panels 5
- 12:30 Lunch Break
- 14:30 Panels 6
- 16:00 Coffee Break
- 16:30 Walking tour/"The Russian Revolution between Tradition and Innovation" - round table
- 18:30 Keynote lecture and discussion; by Professor Balazs Trencsenyi: Historicizing Post-Socialism. Continuities and Ruptures
- 20:00 Farewell Reception
SUNDAY, 6 AUGUST, 2016
- Departure