Vierde Huygens-Descarteslezing: Pamela H. Smith (Columbia University, NY), “In the Workshop of History: Reconstructing Lived Experience in Early Modern Europe” (Amsterdam, 15 juni 2011)

What does it mean to reconstruct historical experience? In a sense, all historians attempt to reconstruct historical experience out of the vestiges—the texts, practices, and artifacts—of the past, and the cultural historian in particular seeks to reconstruct the material and mental worlds of past ages. What techniques are available to the historian? Can knowledge gained through hands-on experience—whether of craft techniques, of sensation, or of historical actions—be employed as a reliable source by historians? Can re-enactment and reconstruction give insight not only into the material conditions but also the mental worldview of the past? Through the examination of a variety of case studies focusing especially on the replication of craft techniques, this lecture considers what can be learned by the historian through historical reconstruction.

About the speaker:

Pamela H. Smith, professor at Columbia University in New York, specializes in early modern European history and the history of science. Her current research, which is supported by a Mellon New Directions Fellowship, focuses on attitudes to nature in early modern Europe and the Scientific Revolution, with particular attention to craft knowledge and historical techniques.

Venue:

Bethaniënklooster, Barndesteeg 6a, Amsterdam, Amsterdam, June 15, 2011, 15.30-17.30u
Admission: free, if registered through e-mail via info@huygensinstituut.knaw.nl.

For more information, contact Ilja Nieuwland at the Huygens ING

No related posts.