[Themaintainers] history of infrastructure cfp

Jonathan Coopersmith j-coopersmith at tamu.edu
Sat Feb 23 00:50:01 EST 2019


CFP: Material Assemblages: New Perspectives on the History of
Infrastructure - Berlin, May 2020
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__networks.h-2Dnet.org_user_login-3Fdestination-3Dnode_3732591&d=DwMGaQ&c=ODFT-G5SujMiGrKuoJJjVg&r=xd_h1GnqUOIgUwdyipeynKCpqL76q7QWVzlt1TjNm50&m=_FwX8RGqI1VJ_ACYdr8aDfDllFxeQVRAoXFpwGEdAU8&s=8IfM_pwmwaHrhEmdYOD7UacSDRgnIWFQ5epZSDNYRO4&e=>
by Jan E. Hansen

*Jan Hansen (Humboldt-Universität Berlin), Frederik Schulze (Westfälische
Wilhelms-Universität Münster)*

Date: May 27-29, 2020
Location: Berlin



Infrastructures are long-lasting material installments. They provide social
functions such as mobility, exchange, and communication, and they keep
human societies, economic systems, and political entities running. They
structure human life on the most basic level. Without roads, tunnels,
bridges, harbors, airports, dams, gas and water pipes, power lines, and
telephone and internet cables, it would be difficult to grasp the history
of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries or understand globalization
processes. Infrastructure is composed of material objects; it functions due
to this materiality and its interaction with humans, the environment, and
other material objects.

Since the 1970s, materiality has emerged as an influential research
paradigm in archaeology, anthropology, science and technology studies, and
sociology. Since then, a new interdisciplinary research field has developed
under the banner of material culture studies. This field conceives of
material objects not only as expressions of cultural meaning, but also as
actants that exercise agency and decisively shape social networks. Due to
the privileged status of written over material sources, the materiality
paradigm has only been evolving for the past ten years. However, the
history of infrastructure has not been explicitly affected by this trend,
yet.

The workshop will enquire about the materiality of infrastructure. We are
interested in how a specific material impacts the temporality and
spatiality of infrastructure, as well as the process by which
infrastructure has gained agency as material assemblages and has interacted
with objects, nature, and humans. According to our assumption, the
materiality of infrastructure is a fundamental yet under-researched
condition for understanding infrastructure. In this sense, we combine the
history of objects and the history of infrastructure, which, until now,
were largely considered separately.

This call for papers addresses scholars from a variety of fields, including
historians, geographers, anthropologists, and sociologists. The focus of
the workshop is directed, but not limited, to the following set of
questions:

   - How does the materiality of infrastructure exercise agency in complex
   networks of humans, objects, and environmental factors? How can historians
   explore these dynamic and hybrid assemblages of human and nonhuman agency?
   - What is the relationship between infrastructure and space and time?
   While space and time certainly affect infrastructure, infrastructure also
   produces specific experiences of space, and it enables us to structure
   time. How does the material’s spatiality and temporality mold
   infrastructure? How is it being molded by these assemblages?
   - To what extent is research on the materiality of infrastructure
   connected to research on power? It is well known that infrastructure, such
   as railways, bridges, or water pipes, serve as powerful technologies (not
   only in colonial contexts). How does materiality exercise power? What are
   the limits of such an approach with regard to materiality?

Given these questions, we are particularly interested in case studies that
consider infrastructure related to water, electricity, and transportation.
However, we also encourage scholars to submit proposals dealing with other
types of infrastructure or approaching the topic from a more theoretical
perspective. Proposals might apply a global microhistory approach,
fruitfully combining the advantages of global history and microhistory.

We cordially invite prospective participants to submit paper proposals of
no more than 300 words along with a one-page CV to
frederik.schulze at uni-muenster.de and jan-eric.hansen at geschichte.hu-berlin.de.
All submissions are due on March 31, 2019. Pending the results of funding
applications, we will cover travel costs and accommodation.



*Contact Info: *

Dr. Jan Hansen
Department of History
Humboldt University of Berlin
Unter den Linden 6
10099 Berlin
GERMANY

Contact Email:

jan-eric.hansen at geschichte.hu-berlin.de

   - Read more or reply
   <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__networks.h-2Dnet.org_user_login-3Fdestination-3Dnode_3732591&d=DwMGaQ&c=ODFT-G5SujMiGrKuoJJjVg&r=xd_h1GnqUOIgUwdyipeynKCpqL76q7QWVzlt1TjNm50&m=_FwX8RGqI1VJ_ACYdr8aDfDllFxeQVRAoXFpwGEdAU8&s=8IfM_pwmwaHrhEmdYOD7UacSDRgnIWFQ5epZSDNYRO4&e=>


Jonathan Coopersmith
Visiting Professor
School for the Future of Innovation in Society
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona

Professor
Department of History
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX  77843-4236
979.739.4708 (cell)
979.862.4314 (fax)

Latest article:  http://theconversation
.com/why-do-people-still-use-fax-machines-109064
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__theconversation.com_why-2Ddo-2Dpeople-2Dstill-2Duse-2Dfax-2Dmachines-2D109064&d=DwMFaQ&c=ODFT-G5SujMiGrKuoJJjVg&r=xd_h1GnqUOIgUwdyipeynKCpqL76q7QWVzlt1TjNm50&m=6YTciul5cmHMYpIE4DBtLo5GwLGC09jAumpqqx7Z3rU&s=SM8Zc9WYgGjKIZge3dUv7eWJ50JBvt7LQlUv6FLVrL8&e=>

*FAXED.  The Rise and Fall of the Fax Machine* (Johns Hopkins University
Press) is the co-recipient of the 2016 Business History Conference Hagley
Prize for best book in business history.




On Thu, Feb 21, 2019 at 2:13 AM Jérôme Denis <
jerome.denis at mines-paristech.fr> wrote:

> Hello everyone,
> totally agree with Lara. I’m very uncomfortable with these prices.
> You’ll find the chapter I wrote with David Pontille on the French Open
> Access platform HAL.
> https://hal-mines-paristech.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02021201/document
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__hal-2Dmines-2Dparistech.archives-2Douvertes.fr_hal-2D02021201_document&d=DwMFaQ&c=ODFT-G5SujMiGrKuoJJjVg&r=xd_h1GnqUOIgUwdyipeynKCpqL76q7QWVzlt1TjNm50&m=0D0MKDF8Qr4_Kzr51FVE2cZXwAUmG7aFFj1jaN2Z2Kg&s=5p52Pe9pwuTlK1c1-nNhchRmVTJCdfO1o0W3WnvCr9M&e=>
> We put there each of our papers the very day the journal or book is out. A
> small gesture until the great wave of open access puts the big publishers
> down in their place…
> J.
>
> --
>
> *Jérôme Denis*Professor of sociology
>
> *Centre of Sociology of Innovation*i3 — Mines ParisTech
> 60, bd St Michel 75005 Paris, France
> (+33)1 40 51 91 92
> (+33)6 61 52 16 17
>
> publications
>
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__halshs.archives-2Douvertes.fr_search_index_-3Fqa-255BauthIdHal-5Fs-255D-255B-255D-3Djeromedenis-26sort-3DproducedDate-5Ftdate-2Bdesc&d=DwMFaQ&c=ODFT-G5SujMiGrKuoJJjVg&r=xd_h1GnqUOIgUwdyipeynKCpqL76q7QWVzlt1TjNm50&m=0D0MKDF8Qr4_Kzr51FVE2cZXwAUmG7aFFj1jaN2Z2Kg&s=dqBfhP8fqXU_GxldnJ42hFOmQpBgKZiJZPo-9YNjbbk&e=>blog:
> scriptopolis
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.scriptopolis.fr_en&d=DwMFaQ&c=ODFT-G5SujMiGrKuoJJjVg&r=xd_h1GnqUOIgUwdyipeynKCpqL76q7QWVzlt1TjNm50&m=0D0MKDF8Qr4_Kzr51FVE2cZXwAUmG7aFFj1jaN2Z2Kg&s=S8WluCC1r4s4MgJ7t_2i0Zl1ld40JW_TRrNpilitQEk&e=>
>
>
> Le 21 févr. 2019 à 07:59, Daniela Rosner <daniela.rosner at gmail.com> a
> écrit :
>
> Yes, I'm happy to share our chapter as well (co-authored with the fabulous
> Meg Young).
>
> On Wed, Feb 20, 2019 at 1:57 PM Robin Nagle <rn1 at nyu.edu> wrote:
>
>>
>> That's very generous, Lara -- thank you!
>>
>> On 20/Feb/19 15:57, Lara Houston wrote:
>>
>> Hi Robin
>>
>> As a contributor I quite agree, and it’s much less accessible than any of
>> us had hoped for when we set out with a different publisher. I believe it
>> reflects the difficulties of getting edited collections off the ground
>> today (and thanks to the editors for their careful work). I’d be happy to
>> share author-draft copies of my chapter if it happens to be of interest to
>> anyone on the list.
>>
>> Warm wishes, Lara
>>
>> On 20 February 2019 at 20:07:50, Robin Nagle (rn1 at nyu.edu) wrote:
>>
>>
>> Hello, all--
>>
>> *Repair Work Ethnographies* looks like it could be a wonderful work, but
>> Palgrave has it on the market for $96.00 (Kindle for $94.00). Such a
>> prohibitive cost means that it won't make course lists or even personal
>> bookshelves any time soon, and it will even be a tough sell for libraries.
>> I've never understood the logic of such a pricing strategy.
>>
>> -- Robin
>>
>> *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
>> *Robin Nagle, PhD*
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *Author, Picking Up
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__smile.amazon.com_Picking-2DUp-2DStreets-2DSanitation-2DWorkers-2Debook_dp_B00ANI9EJC_ref-3Dsr-5F1-5F1-3Fs-3Dbooks-26ie-3DUTF8-26qid-3D1512559732-26sr-3D1-2D1-26keywords-3Dpicking-2Bup-253A-2Bon-2Bthe-2Bstreets&d=DwMFaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=4OosntkXJLX6xA0pj7vLkw&m=KDGYKybiHWwmCqhM3RzmA94AIWpudcMG-c1fryDcp8E&s=6AT4Dc8ZkIkBeGQU-uhKE20nwHUuRQ26Aby6aC6eTRA&e=>
>>   Director, Arts & Science Action Research | College of Arts & Science
>> Clinical Professor
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__liberalstudies.nyu.edu_about_faculty_robin-2Dnagle.html&d=DwMFaQ&c=ODFT-G5SujMiGrKuoJJjVg&r=xd_h1GnqUOIgUwdyipeynKCpqL76q7QWVzlt1TjNm50&m=0D0MKDF8Qr4_Kzr51FVE2cZXwAUmG7aFFj1jaN2Z2Kg&s=Qc2p_iPUOo1XeGwd8yY5PLac_fKBn0RxlT0BLAbco_M&e=>,
>> Anthropology & Environmental Studies | Liberal Studies Faculty Fellow in
>> Residence | Third North Residence Hall New York University**
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__smile.amazon.com_Picking-2DUp-2DStreets-2DSanitation-2DWorkers-2Debook_dp_B00ANI9EJC_ref-3Dsr-5F1-5F1-3Fs-3Dbooks-26ie-3DUTF8-26qid-3D1512559732-26sr-3D1-2D1-26keywords-3Dpicking-2Bup-253A-2Bon-2Bthe-2Bstreets&d=DwMFaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=4OosntkXJLX6xA0pj7vLkw&m=KDGYKybiHWwmCqhM3RzmA94AIWpudcMG-c1fryDcp8E&s=6AT4Dc8ZkIkBeGQU-uhKE20nwHUuRQ26Aby6aC6eTRA&e=>*
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *Anthropologist-in-Residence Department of Sanitation
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www1.nyc.gov_site_dsny_index.page&d=DwMFaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=4OosntkXJLX6xA0pj7vLkw&m=KDGYKybiHWwmCqhM3RzmA94AIWpudcMG-c1fryDcp8E&s=ihBIeplZLb-LQRLxbj2AclREbV1gOQJnrWkCr8-XbR0&e=>
>> New York City *
>> *@rznagle robinnagle.com
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__robinnagle.com&d=DwMFaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=4OosntkXJLX6xA0pj7vLkw&m=KDGYKybiHWwmCqhM3RzmA94AIWpudcMG-c1fryDcp8E&s=yagGqxgfzMse_NhzWye2qDXuy2t7CsBgMpeWNdYG9do&e=>*
>> *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *
>>
>> On 20/Feb/19 11:12, Lee Vinsel wrote:
>>
>> Hello, everybody.
>>
>> I can't remember if this has gone out to the list already, but I wanted
>> to draw (or re-draw) everyone's attention to new book on repair work.
>> Edited by Ignaz Strebel, Alain Bovet, and Phillipe Sormani, *Repair Work
>> Ethnographies: Revisiting Breakdown, Relocating Materiality*
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__books.google.com_books-3Fid-3DnXB-5FDwAAQBAJ-26source-3Dgbs-5Fnavlinks-5Fs&d=DwMFaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=4OosntkXJLX6xA0pj7vLkw&m=-M-ZyKEWJY62QrTER_Cs0b41x18797Qrzqu25vZnuAY&s=G0_Tq90JKC6eU7mDLNYgUgvBh9HKB1Z2ApK7YCGUP7o&e=>draws
>> together about ten ethnographies, including several by folks who have
>> presented at or been involved in The Maintainers. I paste a description of
>> the volume below.
>>
>> This brings me to my request: in the coming months, The Maintainers
>> organization will be revamping its communications efforts, and we would
>> love to highlight new publications on maintenance, repair, infrastructure,
>> and related topics. So, if you or others have something coming out, please
>> let us know, and we will be happy to promote the work! Thanks.
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Lee
>>
>>
>> Repair Work Ethnographies: Revisiting Breakdown, Relocating Materiality
>> This pioneering book homes in on repair as an everyday practice. Bringing
>> together exemplary ethnographies of repair work around the world, it
>> examines the politics of repair, its work settings and intricate networks,
>> in and across a wide range of situations, lay and professional. The book
>> evidences the topical relevance of situated inquiry into breakdown, repair,
>> and maintenance for engaging with the contemporary world more broadly.
>> Airplanes and artworks, bicycles and buildings, cars and computers, medical
>> devices and mobile phones, as virtually any commodity, infrastructure or
>> technical artifact, have in common their occasional breakdown, if not
>> inbuilt obsolescence. Hence the point and purpose of closely examining how
>> and when they are fixed.
>>
>> --
>> Assistant Professor
>> Department of Science, Technology, and Society
>> Virginia Tech
>> leevinsel.com
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__leevinsel.com&d=DwMFaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=4OosntkXJLX6xA0pj7vLkw&m=-M-ZyKEWJY62QrTER_Cs0b41x18797Qrzqu25vZnuAY&s=ReGL7Wcu3bDO9o3_hPW7OVeL4Z2-D-9FEePf2N-JJK0&e=>
>> Twitter: @STS_News
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Themaintainers mailing listThemaintainers at lists.stevens.eduhttps://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__lists.stevens.edu_mailman_listinfo_themaintainers&d=DwICAg&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=4OosntkXJLX6xA0pj7vLkw&m=-M-ZyKEWJY62QrTER_Cs0b41x18797Qrzqu25vZnuAY&s=mzUGjTbyWA1QxVGyGsln60aOxPXH0DoNQduugj0amBU&e=
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Themaintainers mailing list
>> Themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu
>> https://lists.stevens.edu/mailman/listinfo/themaintainers
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__lists.stevens.edu_mailman_listinfo_themaintainers&d=DwMFaQ&c=ODFT-G5SujMiGrKuoJJjVg&r=xd_h1GnqUOIgUwdyipeynKCpqL76q7QWVzlt1TjNm50&m=0D0MKDF8Qr4_Kzr51FVE2cZXwAUmG7aFFj1jaN2Z2Kg&s=yLvroeIyfxbTjlh0oY5E3egLI74ljZ4F9irPDCw3sM0&e=>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Themaintainers mailing list
>> Themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu
>> https://lists.stevens.edu/mailman/listinfo/themaintainers
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__lists.stevens.edu_mailman_listinfo_themaintainers&d=DwMFaQ&c=ODFT-G5SujMiGrKuoJJjVg&r=xd_h1GnqUOIgUwdyipeynKCpqL76q7QWVzlt1TjNm50&m=0D0MKDF8Qr4_Kzr51FVE2cZXwAUmG7aFFj1jaN2Z2Kg&s=yLvroeIyfxbTjlh0oY5E3egLI74ljZ4F9irPDCw3sM0&e=>
>>
>
>
> --
> ~-:~-:~-:~-:~-:~-:~-:~
> Daniela K. Rosner
> danielarosner.com
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__danielarosner.com_&d=DwMFaQ&c=ODFT-G5SujMiGrKuoJJjVg&r=xd_h1GnqUOIgUwdyipeynKCpqL76q7QWVzlt1TjNm50&m=0D0MKDF8Qr4_Kzr51FVE2cZXwAUmG7aFFj1jaN2Z2Kg&s=W75GRTfb1NVm7FRpCTOufzlvpe_k5k04zQrBS3OYlMs&e=>
> @danielarosner
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__twitter.com_danielarosner&d=DwMFaQ&c=ODFT-G5SujMiGrKuoJJjVg&r=xd_h1GnqUOIgUwdyipeynKCpqL76q7QWVzlt1TjNm50&m=0D0MKDF8Qr4_Kzr51FVE2cZXwAUmG7aFFj1jaN2Z2Kg&s=pNDQaGnAq_pl6QMgQbfY5-3tekI6tSWSJVLdqtGmJLY&e=>
> she//her/hers
>
> My new book Critical Fabulations
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.amazon.com_Critical-2DFabulations-2DReworking-2DMethods-2DThinking_dp_0262037890_ref-3Dsr-5F1-5F1-3Fie-3DUTF8-26qid-3D1513030134-26sr-3D8-2D1-26keywords-3Dcritical-2Bfabulation&d=DwMFaQ&c=ODFT-G5SujMiGrKuoJJjVg&r=xd_h1GnqUOIgUwdyipeynKCpqL76q7QWVzlt1TjNm50&m=0D0MKDF8Qr4_Kzr51FVE2cZXwAUmG7aFFj1jaN2Z2Kg&s=ne3Wno8BWrCjc0FkLTFycvq7LynBZ8rcVYd8fjP6pBc&e=> now
> out with MIT Press!
> _______________________________________________
> Themaintainers mailing list
> Themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu
> https://lists.stevens.edu/mailman/listinfo/themaintainers
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Themaintainers mailing list
> Themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu
> https://lists.stevens.edu/mailman/listinfo/themaintainers
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.stevens.edu/pipermail/themaintainers/attachments/20190223/53073ffc/attachment.html>


More information about the Themaintainers mailing list