Gender history, as well as history of knowledge and science, has been part of the established repertoire of the wide array of historical and cultural research studies in recent years. Yet primarily national perspectives and the focus on either gender or knowledge/science remains predominant. At its annual meeting, the Leibniz Graduate School for Cultures of Knowledge in Central European Transnational Context invites academics to discuss the different aspects of knowledge, science and gender in the perspective of historical research, sociology of knowledge and gender theory. It seems to be especially promising to integrate East Central Europe into the ongoing debates about gender and knowledge production.
According to this approach, our concern is to analyze the process-based production of the categories knowledge and gender, their performative aspects, as well as the relations between them. One must bear in mind that the category of gender must always be seen as an interplay between power and knowledge, and at the same time the category of knowledge must be understood as an interplay between power and gender. This is necessary in order to not only introduce the “women question” into the history of knowledge/science, but also to analyze the complex interdependencies of the categories of knowledge, gender and power, and to think critically about science as well as two-gender hegemony. The institution of science has an important role in this as the production of knowledge about gender manifests itself differently in this institution according to changes in historical context. It is clear that in this process several expert- and knowledge-cultures, known as traveling concepts as well as methods of knowledge transfer within East Central Europe can be reconstructed. The annual conference provides a forum to explore these interdependencies of knowledge and gender creation in historical perspective and to discuss them on the basis of different empirical, methodological and theoretical contributions. The emphasis is on the period between the 18th century and the present day, but contributions from other time periods are also welcome. The geographical focus is on East-Central Europe, comparative perspectives from other geo-political contexts are very welcome.

The invited keynote speakers are:
Prof. Dr. Theresa Wobbe (University of Potsdam) Prof. Dr. Bożena Chołuj (European University Viadrina, Frankfurt/Oder)


Speakers interested in further thematic sections are invited to submit proposals for a 20-minutes presentation. Possible thematic questions are:
        - Gender specific cultures of knowledge and knowledge production:
                - What are the consequences of gender spaces and practices? - How are different kinds of knowledge (professional knowledge, medical knowledge, general knowledge) in different time periods gender-coded and in which ways?
                - What role do the categories gender and emotion play in the production of knowledge?
                - Through which media and in which ways was knowledge about gender produced in specific historical contexts?
        - Academic careers and gender:
                - How have enrollment restrictions to universities and other centers of knowledge production changed?
                -  Which gender-specific differences become apparent between natural and social sciences?
                -  What role does the category gender play in the transfer of knowledge within expert cultures?
                -  What is the importance of gender-specific migration in the transfer of knowledge and concepts?

Intersectionality of the categories gender, ethnicity, class, religion and knowledge orders in East Central Europe:
        - How can political movements (emancipation movements, national movements) in East-Central Europe be analyzed from a gender/knowledge specific perspective?
        - What connections arise between the categories of gender, knowledge and nation in East-Central Europe?
        - What role does religion and denomination play?
        - How has the political and labor market status of women and men in different time periods changed, and in doing so what role did the knowledge about gender play?


Papers may be submitted either in English or German; the conference will be bilingual; there will be no simultaneous translation. The organizers suppose that the participants are able to follow the papers in both languages. Travel and accommodation costs for the speakers will be covered. Please send your abstract (maximum of 4,000 characters) as well as a short CV with details of your current research interests and recent publications by the 17th of June, 2013 to Ina Alber (ina.alber@herder-institut.de). A reply message will reach you by the 31st of August, 2013. The selected abstracts will be distributed among the participants.

For further inquiries, please contact the managing director of the Leibniz Graduate School, Ina Alber.

Ina Alber M.A.
Herder Institute for Historical Research on East Central Europe – Institute of the Leibniz Association Gisonenweg 5-7, 35037 Marburg, Germany
Tel: +49 6421 184-122
Fax: +49 6421 184-194
www.facebook.com/HerderInstitut

Email: ina.alber@herder-institut.de
Visit the website at http://www.herder-institut.de