Compared History of Science in the 20th Century

The first EUTIM focus theme is the history of science and the humanities with special attention paid to non-simultaneity and complex entanglements of producing knowledge in the ‘East’ and ‘West’; the relevance of who proposes certain conceptual ideas, as well as where and in what languages; and what role ascribed and self-ascribed ‘backwardness’ played in (inter)national recognition of theoretical suggestions. Furthermore, the project considers the notion of ‘theories from the East’ and the ways that ‘Western’ conceptual frameworks were domesticized in Central and Eastern Europe.

An interdisciplinary conference “History of Science and the Challenges of ‘Non-simultaneity’ in Eastern and Central Europe” in December 2021 will provide scope for scholars from various academic backgrounds (e.g., history, literary studies, sociology, natural history) to pose and openly discuss the above-mentioned questions and issues. Our conference will consist of several panels, such as “From Natural History to the History of Ideas: Close Reading of Non-simultaneity in Eastern Europe”, “The Complexity of Scientific Interactions during the Cold War Era”, and a case-study discussion, “Literary Criticism in Soviet Ukraine in the 1920s–early 1930s: Between Marxism and Formalism”.

The conference talks are available online via the YouTube-Channel „Entangled History of Ukraine“ verfügbar.