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).

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