Call for Papers for the International Workshop on Secret Councils: Comparative Perspectives on Monarchies and Republics, c. 1550-1800

Call for Papers for the International Workshop on Secret Councils: Comparative Perspectives on Monarchies and Republics, c. 1550-1800 General information: Date: 20-21 June 2024 Location: University of Bern, Switzerland Proposal lenght: Approximitly 500 words + CV (1 page) Languages: English, German, French Submission Deadline: 29 September 2023 Sent to: Debora Heim (debora.heim@unibe.ch) or Nadir Weber (nadir.weber@unib e.ch) Date: Location: Proposal lenght: Languages: Submission Deadline: Sent to: 20-21 June 2024 University of Bern, Switzerland Approximately 500 words + CV (1 page) English, German, French 29 September 2023 Debora Heim (debora.heim@unibe.ch) or Nadir Weber (nadir.weber@unibe.ch) Information for invited participants: Paper submission deadline: Number of pages: Languages: End of May 2024 6 to 10 pages English, German, French Paper submission deadline: Number of pages: Languages: End of May 2024   6 to 10 pages   English, German, French For the invited participants travel, accommodation and meals during the workshop will be reimbursed thanks to funds from the Swiss National Science Foundation. Download the “Call for Papers” PDF: here.. About the workshop During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, so-called secret councils emerged in centres of political decision-making across Europe. Known as “privy council”, “conseil secret”, “geheime Kammer” or “consiglio segreto”, they advised rulers, established networks of secret information and communication, and sent orders or received foreign ambassadors. Despite their omnipresence on the political scene of Baroque Europe, these political bodies have rarely been compared. Did they have more in common than their names, which reflect the political language of the “Age of Secrecy” (Daniel Jütte)? Do they represent a specific mode of government and political representation that shaped the political cultures of both monarchies and republics? In this international workshop we will explore the history of secret councils in a European comparative perspective. We will use the topic of secret councils as a lens through which to analyse different modes of political communication, diverse cultures of decision-making, and the functions of governmental secrecy in the early modern period. We will be particularly interested in the similarities and differences between monarchical and non-monarchical political systems. Finally, we will critically assess the role of such institutions in broader historiographical narratives about the rise of absolute monarchies or the political public sphere. In particular, the workshop aims to provide a platform for PhD students and postdoctoral researchers to present and discuss preliminary findings and open questions from their ongoing research projects. Both historical case studies and comparative or methodological contributions are welcome. Themes of interest for the workshop include, but are not limited to: 1. The evolution and role of secret councils2. Concepts and practices of secrecy in secret councils3. Their information and communication networks4. Secret councillors and their families as political actors5. Secret councils and political public sphere(s)6. Secret councils in early modern political thought We invite interested scholars of history and related disciplines (art history, literary history, history of political thought) to submit an proposal. For further information and questions, please contact Debora Heim (debora.heim@unibe.ch).

Call for Papers for the International Workshop on Archival Secrecy in Early Modern Monarchies and Republics

Call for Papers: International Workshop on Archival Secrecy in Early Modern Monarchies and Republics General information: Date: 5-6 September 2024 Location: University of Bern, Switzerland Proposal lenght: Approximately 500 words + CV (1 page) Languages: English, German, French Submission Deadline: 3 November 2023 Sent to: Jan Haugner (jan.haugner@unibe.ch) or Nadir Weber (nadir.weber@unibe.ch) Date: Location: Proposal lenght: Languages: Submission Deadline: Sent to: 5-6 September 2024 University of Bern, Switzerland Approximatly 500 words + CV (1 page) English, German, French 3 November 2023 Jan Haugner (jan.haugner@unibe.ch) or Nadir Weber (nadir.weber@unibe.ch) Information for invited participants: Paper submission deadline: Number of pages: Languages: Early June 2024 6 to 10 pages English, German, French Paper submission deadline: Number of pages: Languages: Early June 2024   6 to 10 pages   English, German, French For the invited participants travel, accommodation and meals during the workshop will be reimbursed thanks to funds from the Swiss National Science Foundation. Download the “Call for Papers” PDF: here. About the workshop Over the past three decades, the “archival turn” has reshaped historiographical notions of archives, transforming them from mere repositories of sources into objects of historical inquiry. This shift in how historians view archives has contributed to a deeper understanding of archives as sites of memory and power. Studies of the early modern “information state” have emphasised the role of archives as tools of government, while the study of “archival practices” has revealed a wide range of uses of archives, from symbolic representation as state treasuries to administrative practices and early modern historiography. The question of access to city, court, or state archives has been addressed in these studies, but rarely in a systematic-comparative way. This workshop aims to fill this research gap by providing a space for discussion of the accessibility of early modern archives to different social groups and its connections to political organisation. In particular, the workshop will be interested in conceptions and practices of archival secrecy in early modern Europe. In the late medieval and early modern period, so-called secret chanceries and archives were institutionalised in many parts of the European political landscape. Stored in closed boxes behind thick walls, government documents were supposed to belong to an exclusive sphere of the arcana imperii. However, as recent research has shown, this did not necessarily mean that these archives were completely inaccessible to nongovernmental actors. The aim of this workshop is to discuss the rules and material arrangements that were supposed to allow records to be kept secret, and who was or was not allowed access to documents from the past. Were there certain records that were more public than others, and to what extent did their age determine whether they belonged to the secret sphere of government or were considered more “historical” documents? And to what extent did the political system shape the way in which archival secrecy was organised and debated: was access to “public” archives organised differently in early modern republics and monarchies, and in which cases was the monopoly of rulers on information challenged by groups outside the ruling elite? The main aim of the workshop is to facilitate the exchange of innovative methodologies and to promote networking among researchers interested in archives, republicanism and secrecy. We will discuss how different methodological approaches, such as praxeology and cognitive history, offer new perspectives for the study of archival practices and secrecy. Participants are invited to submit proposals for papers that address one or more of the following topics: Concepts and representations of archival secrecy: When were archives described as secret? To what extent was secrecy as such a symbol of power, and how did this role relate to everyday practices of record keeping? How did the arcana imperii shape the iconography or discourses of early modern archives? Organisation of archival secrecy: Who was responsible for access to government records? How did secrecy influence the architecture and material culture of early modern archives and the way documents were arranged? To what extent did secrecy also shape the structure of contemporary inventories? Ways and benefits of access to the archives: Who could use the archives and to what extent? What opportunities arose from access to state documents – how important was it for advancing political careers? “Public” vs. “private” archives: What was the relationship between state archives and collections of documents held by individuals or families? Were family archives a challenge to archival secrecy in state archives or were they considered even more secret? The cognitive aspects of archiving: How did material and mental practices of knowledge preservation influence each other? Can material and textual sources shed light on the cognitive processes behind the organisation and use of early modern archives? Was personal memory a medium of archival secrecy? This is not an exhaustive list, and other approaches related to the topic are also welcome. For further information and questions, please contact Jan Haugner (jan.haugner@unibe.ch).

Picture References

Picture References Landing-Page and Project David Herrliberger, Assemblée du Petit et Grand Conseil de Ville de Zurich, 1744-1751. Public domain: Zentralbibliothek Zürich, e-rara, [https://doi.org/10.3931/e-rara-61776]. N.n., Secretanza, overo Taciturnita, n.d., in: Ceare Ripa, Inconologia, 1613. Public domain: Collection of the Institute of Art History of the Jagiellonian University, Polona, [https://polona.pl/item/iconologia-di-cesare-ripa-pervgino-nella-qvale-si-descrivono-diverse-imagini-di,ODY5MTg4NzU/636/#info:metadata]. N.n. Head of a Lion, n.d., picture from: Didier Descouens, Bocca di Leone in the Doge’s Palace, 2019. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International: Wikipedia, [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:(Venice)_Bocca_di_Leone_in_the_Doge%27s_Palace.jpg]. Otto Vaenius, Nihil silentio utilius, in: Quintin Horatius Flaccus / Otto Vaenius, Quintin Horatii Flacci emblemata, 1683. Emmanuel Joseph Sutter, Un Banneret, un Secret, un Messager d’État, n.d., in: Louis Joseph Lalive d’Epinay, Étrennes Fribourgeoises. Pour l’an de Grace MDCCC IX, 1809. © Zentral- und Hochschulbibliothek Luzern, ZHB 429. Blog «Nadir Weber has been appointed as an extraordinary professor at the University of Bern»: N.n., Nadir Weber, 2023.©University of Bern, unibe, [ https://mediarelations.unibe.ch/personalia/2023/personalnachrichten_juni_2023/nadir_weber/index_ger.html ]. «Published Article in the Proceedings of the 54th German Historian’s Day»: Debora Heim / Jan Haugner, HT 2023: Gerüchte, Geheimnisse, Falschnachrichten. Zur Evaluation politischer Informationen im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert, in: Proceedings of the 54th German Historian’s Day, Front page. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, H-soz-kult, [ https://www.hsozkult.de/conferencereport/id/fdkn-139534 ]. «Presentation at the research colloquium in Bern»: Jan Haugner, Debora Heim presenting in Bern, 2023. «Presentation at a research colloquium in Germany»: Noemi Fuchs, Jan Haugner presenting in Schauinsland, Germany, 2023. «Presentation at a research colloquium in Lucerne», Nicole Schranker, Nadir Weber, Jan Haugner and Debora Heim presenting in Luzern, 2023. «Publication in Rassegna storica del Risorgimento»: N.n., Rassegna storica del Risorgimento, Bd. 2023 (1), 2022, Front page. Rubbettino Editore, Rubbettino Editore – Store, [ https://www.store.rubbettinoeditore.it/catalogo/rassegna-storica-del-risorgimento-anno-cxix-fascicolo-1/ ] «Research day at the “Ratshaus” Lucern»: Simona Baumgartner, View from the “Alten Kanzlei” into the “Neue Kanzlei”  within the “Ratshaus” in Lucerne, 2023. «Collaboration with HSLU Students»: Noemi Fuchs, Screenshot of Landing Page, 2022. «Research day at the “Wasserturm” Lucern»: Simona Baumgartner, “Wasserturm” from Lucerne, 2022. «Start of the Project»: Screenshot of News Announcement on the Website of the University Lucerne from 2022. «“Eccellenza”-Project at the University of Lucerne»: Roberto Conciatori, Nadir Weber, 2022. Team Simon Müller, Picture of the Team, 2022.  The Pictures of Nadir Weber, Jan Haugner, Debora Heim, Nicole Schraner, Simona Baumgartner and Noemi Fuchs were taken during October 2022 by the photographer Roberto Conciatori on behalf of the University of Lucerne. Touring Republics Overview Fiamengo Arnoldo di Arnoldi / Matteo Florimi, Weltkarte., last quarter of the 16. century.Creative Common Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 DE: Deutschen Dokumentationszentrum für Kunstgeschichte – Bildarchiv Foto Marburg, Graphikportal, [ https://www.graphikportal.org/document/gpo00029570 ]. Touring Republic – Republic of Genoa The following picture references follow the same order as the sources listed in the “touring republics” sections. Cover pictureWilhelm Pleydenwurff / Michael Wolgemut / Anton Koberger / Hartmann Schedel, Genua., 1493.Creative Common Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 DE: Deutschen Dokumentationszentrum für Kunstgeschichte – Bildarchiv Foto Marburg, Graphikportal, [ https://www.graphikportal.org/document/gpo00005753 ]. Francesco GuicciardiniGiuseppe Piattoli / Francesco Allegrini, Francesco Guicciardini Istoriografo Patrizio Florentino, 1775, in: Guicciardini, Francesco, Della Istoria D’Italia: Libri XX. Friburgo: Kluch 1775, 1 page bevor the front page. Public Domain Mark 1.0: Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Sachsen-Anhalt, Opendata,  [http://dx.doi.org/10.25673/83336]. Heinrich SchickhardtN.n., Heinrich Schickhardt (Zeichnung eines architektonischen Elemtes aus dem Neuen Lusthaus in Stuttgart), Stuttgart 1844/45.Public Domain: Wikimedia Foundation, Wikimedia, [ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heinrich_Schickhardt_Holzschnitt_o.R._(BVuHSi01).jpg ]. Fynes MorysonFynes Moryson: An Itinerary written by Fynes Moryson Gent. First in the Latine Tongue, and then translated by him into English. Containing his ten yeeres Travell through the twelve domjnions of Germany, Bohmerland, Sweitzerland, Netherland, Denmarke, Poland, Italy, Turky, France, England, Scotland, and Ireland. Divided into III Parts, London: Johan Beale, 1617, Front page. Internet Archive, Open Library, [https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6924093M/An_itinerary]. Joseph FurttenbachHans Schultes, Porträt von Joseph Furttenbach, 1652.Public Domain Mark 1.0: Sächsische Landesbibliothek – Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden, Deutsche Fotothek, [http://www.deutschefotothek.de/documents/obj/88966993]. Sigmund von BirkenJacob von Sandrart / Matrin Limburg, Portrait of Sigmund von Birken, 1645-1708.Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International: The British Museum, Collection, [https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/image/1613351772]. Richard LasselsLassels, Richard: The Voyage of Italy, or A Compleat Journey through Italy. In Two Parts. With Intructions concerning Travel. Never Before Extant. Paris, London: John Starkey 1670, Front page.Internet Archive, Internet Archive, [ https://archive.org/details/gri_33125009310760/page/n5/mode/2up ]. Gilbert BurnetSara Curtis/ Jacobus Houbraken, Bildnis Gilbert Burnet, n.d..Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 DE: Deutschen Dokumentationszentrum für Kunstgeschichte – Bildarchiv Foto Marburg, Graphikportal, [https://www.graphikportal.org/document/gpo00073237]. Claude JordanClaude Jordan: Voyages historiques de l’Europe. Tome III qui comprend tout ce qu’il y a de plus curieux en Italie. 8 vols. Paris: chez Nicolas le Gras 1693, Vol 3, Front page.Bibliothèque nationale de France, Gallica, [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1063998?rk=64378;0]. Johann KeilhackerJohann Keilhacker: Des Curieusen Hoffmeisters Geographisch-Historisch-und Politischer Wissenschafften. Anderer Theil Worinnen die in dem Ersten manquierende herrschende Staaten und Republiquen als Pohlen/Moscau, Türcken/Schweitz/Italien, Asia, Africa und America […] nach voriger Methode vorgestellet werden. Vol. 2, Leipzig: Martin Theodor Heybeyen 1700, Front page.Google LLC, Google Books, [ https://books.google.ch/books?id=-c-FV5VunHYC&printsec=frontcover&hl=de&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false ]. Heinrich Ludwig GudeHeinrich Ludwig Gude: Staat Der Republique Von Genoua Lucca Und Marino. Halle: Renger 1708, Front page.Sächsische Landesbibliothek – Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden, SLUB-Katalog, [https://katalog.slub-dresden.de/id/0-1408259818]. Touring Republic – United Provinces of the Netherlands The following picture references follow the same order as the sources listed in the corresponding “touring republics” sections. Cover pictureN.n., Landkarte von den 17. Niederländischen Provincen mitt theils angräntzenden ländern als Frankreich, Köln, und Münster, etc, 1674/1725.Creative Common Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 DE: Deutschen Dokumentationszentrum für Kunstgeschichte – Bildarchiv Foto Marburg, Graphikportal, [ https://www.graphikportal.org/document/gpo00025233 ]. Lodovico GuicciardiniFrancesco Allegrini / Giuseppe Zocchi, Portret van Luigi Guicciardini, n.d.. Portretten van beroemde Italianen met wapenschild in ondermarge, 1763.Public domain: Rijksmuseum, collection, [http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.71614]. Petrus Johannes BlokPetrus Johannes Blok (Ed.): Relazioni veneziane: Venetiaanse berichten over de Vereenigde Nederlanden van 1600-1795. The Hague: Nijhoff 1909, Front page.Internet Archive, Internet Archive, [https://archive.org/details/relazionivenezia07blok/page/n5/mode/2up?view=theatre]. Tomas CoryateN.n., Tomas Coryate (1577-1617), n.d., in: James Douglas: Bombay and Western India. A Series of stray papers. London: Sampson Low 1893, p. 371.Flicker common: British Library, Flicker, [https://www.flickr.com/photos/britishlibrary/11126501616]. Fynes MorysonFynes Moryson: An Itinerary written by Fynes Moryson Gent. First in the Latine Tongue, and then translated by him into English. Containing his ten yeeres Travell through the twelve domjnions of Germany, Bohmerland, Sweitzerland, Netherland, Denmarke, Poland, Italy, Turky, France, England, Scotland, and Ireland. Divided into III Parts, London:

Prof. Dr. Nadir Weber

Prof. Dr. Nadir Weber Associate Professor at the University of Bern (Project director: “Republican Secrets”) After studying history and sociology at the University of Bern and the EPHE Paris, Nadir Weber completed his PhD in 2013 with a study on the interdependence of foreign relations and ruling practices in the 18th century at the University of Bern, where he worked as an SNSF project collaborator, assistant, and finally senior assistant at the Department of Modern History. Starting in 2014, his postdoctoral project on Animals in Courtly Society took him to the Ludwigs-Maximilians-Universität Munich (2014/15), the EPHE Paris, and the Centre de Recherche du Château de Versailles (2015/16) as an SNSF mobility fellow, and to the interdisciplinary Zukunftskolleg of the University of Konstanz (2016-2018) as a Marie S. Curie Fellow. In the academic year 2018/19, he represented the professorship of Early Modern History at the Université de Lausanne. He then led the SNSF-Ambizione-Project «Falcons in Courtly Society» at the University of Bern, which also took him to Humboldt University as well as the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin as a visiting researcher in 2020/21. For his research he was awarded, among others, the Prix Jubilé of the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences (2012) and the Haller Medal of the University of Bern (2020). He is an editorial board member of the «Schweizerische Zeitschrift für die Erforschung des 18. Jahrhunderts» and co-editor of the book series «Tiere in der Geschichte I Animals in History» published by Böhlau-Verlag. From September 2022 to January 2024, Nadir Weber was Assistant Professor with a focus on Modern History (Early Modern Period) at the Department of History of the University of Lucerne, where he led the SNSF-Eccellenza-Project «Republican Secrets: Silence, Memory, and Collective Rule in the Early Modern Period». In February 2024 he was appointed as Associate Professor of Early Modern Swiss History at the Department of Swiss History at the University of Bern, where now the «Republican Secrets»-Project is based as well.

Debora Heim, MA

Debora Heim, MA PhD Candidate at the University of Bern Debora Heim, born 1998 in Thun, studied history and sociology at the University of Bern and the Università degli Studi La Sapienza in Rome. During her master’s degree, she specialized on early modern history and modern history. In her master’s thesis, she analysed the secret council of the Republic of Bern in the 17th and early 18th centuries. During her studies, she worked as an assistant in the SNSF-Ambizione-Project «Falcons in Court Society», and as an assistant and tutor at the department of early modern history at the University of Bern. Since October 2022, she has been a PhD candidate at the department of history at the University of Lucerne. Her PhD project on secret councils in the early modern Swiss Confederation is part of the SNSF-Eccellenza-Project «Republican Secrets. Silence, Memory, and Collective Rule in the Early Modern Period,» under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Nadir Weber. Her research interests include the political and social history of the early modern Swiss Confederation, secrets and practices of secrecy in the early modern period, and the history of information and communication.

Jan Haugner, MA

Jan Haugner, MA PhD Candidate at the University of Bern Jan Haugner, born in 1997 in Worms (Ger), studied History and German Studies at the Johannes Gutenberg-University in Mainz (Ger) from 2016 until 2019. Afterwards he did his M.A.-studies in Early Modern History from 2019 until 2022 in Mainz as well. During that time, he focused mostly on early modern witch-hunt as well as magical literature and beliefs in the Holy Roman Empire. His master thesis compared anthropologic concepts in magical literature written by Jean Bodin, Johann Fischart and Paracelsus. Since September 2022 he is a PhD-student in the SNSF-Eccellenza-Project “Republican Secrets” conducted by Prof. Dr. Nadir Weber at the University of Bern, researching the importance and role of archives for secrecy in the early modern Swiss Orte. During his studies he worked for four years as a freelancer and for two years as a permanent staffer at the Allgemeine Zeitung. He also worked for three semesters as a tutor at the department for early modern history at the university of Mainz. His research interests include Witch-hunt, -literature and -beliefs in the early modern Holy Roman Empire, early modern Christian demonology, medical, religious and magical anthropologic concepts in German-speaking literature of the 16th century, as well as archival practices and practices of secrecy in early modern Europe with a special focus on the Swiss Confederation.

Nicole Schraner, BA

Nicole Schraner, BA Student Assistant at the University of Lucerne Nicole Schraner began studying cultural studies with a major in history at the University of Lucerne in 2017. She received her Bachelor’s degree in 2020. She wrote her Bachelor’s thesis on the topic: «»Ziit isch da – Fraueschtimmrächt Ja» Eine Oral History-Arbeit zur Einführung des Frauenstimmrechts im Kanton Luzern (1959-1971)». She continued her Master’s studies in History and Religious Studies at the University of Lucerne, where she is expected to graduate in summer 2023 with her Master’s thesis: «Auf Spurensuche – Zur Geschichte der Identifizierung und Fahndung von Verdächtigen in Luzern von 1900 bis zum Ersten Weltkrieg».

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