Call for Papers

Call for Papers

Modern Capitals and Historical Peripheries

There is no such thing as modernity. There are different modernities: Weimarian modernity,

Viennese modernity, etc. Max Weber defined modernity as a process of overall modernization
of life from the institution to that of individual life strategies. The 'Great Transformation',
borrowing the title of Karl Polányi's famous book, i.e. the passage from the premodern era to
modernity took place in concrete places and at concrete times: there was a great array of local
variations. Novelty and tradition had to live with each other in an uneasy co-tenancy: the
tensions generated by this situation were different from region to region, from country to
country but the modernization process nowhere run in an entirely smooth way. The conflicts
were embodied in spatial form: primarily, in the opposition of the upwardly mobile capital
and the downgraded countryside, which slipped into a peripheral position. On the cultural
scene, it frequently appeared as an antithesis of ratio and custom, the opposition of the
alienated way of life in the Metropolitan stone desert based upon cold, uprooted, calculative
thinking and the supposedly authentic human existence in the countryside (see, for instance,
the ideas of Tönnies or Simmel). This dichotomy was especially conspicuous in the Central
European context but it appeared almost everywhere in a more or less pronounced fashion.
The main analytical problem is one of continuities and discontinuities: was Jacob
Burckhardt right that the early modern situation is a break with the medieval past, or should
we rather go with Huizinga, who stressed continuity between these epochs? What is the
impact of the industrial revolution in Europe: does the ancient regime survive it, or does it
simply mean the collapse of the old ways of life?
But there is a further question of continuity: between modernity and its aftermath.
Certainly with the rather uneasy consequences of a self-critical attitude growing out in the
heart of modernity since the sixties, labelled as post-modernism, post-structuralism or
deconstruction, alternatively, by now even the progressivist account of the global village,
envisaged in the wake of modernity, is haunted by rather serious dilemmas. Universalist
globalism seems to represent therefore an uneasy victory over a long forgotten past, in
opposition to the alternative vision of particular localisms.
In order to explore the city and its peripheries in Western modernity, we need to address the
question of continuities and discontinuities. Does the emergence of the modern metropolis,
closely linked to the figure of the "flaneur" in Walter Benjamin's writings, already point
towards the crisis of modernity? Can we regard the postmodern as a radical break with, and
profound impasse of, the modern? Though postmodern theories have attempted to foreground
the particular as well as questions concerning gender, class and race, paradoxically, they often
erase local differences, which is clearly visible from an East-Central European perspective.
Therefore, the study of cities and peripheries in this region would not only shed light on the
blind spots of Western modernity, but might also help us reconceptualise the postmodern
metropolis (Edward Soja, etc.)
The planned conference is going to deal with the philosophical, historical, literary and
visual representations of the classical cultural dichotomy of urban centre versus the forgotten
countryside in twentieth century art, culture and the humanities within an interdisciplinary
framework. The invited contributors offer divergent analyses of this complex phenomenon;
capitals (and other urban centres) will appear both as the subjects of philosophical discussion,
historiography, literature and fine arts, and as the scene, public sphere and battlefield of the
development of intellectual life. The planned presentations will offer partly case studies about
concrete issues of concrete capitals or particular regional affairs, and partly theoretical
discussions and comparisons concerning the abovementioned questions . The historical epoch
in the focus of our research is modernity in the widest possible sense, from the early modern
period till the 1960s and even further, up to the dilemmas of the present moment.
We invite submission of abstracts for 20-minute talks. Papers on the following themes will be
particularly welcome:

 Representations of the city and the countryside in 20 th century Central Europeanliterature and visual culture

 Central Europe as the "Other" of Western modernity
 The role of continuities and discontinuities in the history of modern metropoles
 The cultural geography of Central European cities and peripheries
 Flanerie, walking and the Central European space
 The portrayal of women, gender, and Central European cities
 The city as a battlefield of intellectual life
 The postmillennial metropolis and the waning of affect

Venue:

Institute of Philosophy of the Research Centre for the Humanities of the Hungarian Academy

of Sciences
4. Tóth Kálmán st., Budapest, 1097
20-21 October, 2017.

There is no conference fee.

Applications must contain the title of the presentation and an abstract up to 1000 characters;

and the name of the author with titles and affiliation.

Deadline for abstract submission: 31 July, 2017.

Please, send the applications to the e-mail: FI.Titkarsag@btk.mta.hu