CFP: Intersections: Traffic and Transportation in the Early Modern Period &amp; The Representation of Subtle Bodies (10/1/05; jo

full name / name of organization: 
Todd, R.K.

I should be grateful if the following calls for papers could be posted =
on your site. As you will see, Intersections is a series of primary =
interest to scholars working in the early modern period.


CALL FOR PAPERS - Intersections vol. 8 and 9

Vol. 8: Traffic and transportation in the Early Modern Period Vol. 9: =
Spirits Unseen: The Representation of Subtle Bodies in Early Modern =
European Culture [please scroll down]

Intersection brings together new material on well considered themes =
within the wide area of Early Modern Studies.=20
Contributions may come
from any of the disciplines within the humanities:=20
history, art
history, literary history, book history, church history, social history, =
history of the humanities, of the theatre, of cultural life and =
institutions. The themes are carefully selected on the basis of a number =
of criteria, the most important of which are that they should address =
issues about which there is a lively and ongoing debate within the =
international community of scholars and that they should be of interest =
to a variety of disciplines.

Volumes published to date are:
vol. 1 (2001) Karl Enenkel et alii, Recreating Ancient History. [...].
vol. 2 (2002) Toon van Houdt et alii, On the Edge of Truth and Honesty. =
Principles and Strategies of Fraud and Deceit in the Early Modern =
Period. vol. 3 (2003) Arie-Jan Gelderblom et alii, The Low Countries as =
a crossroads of Religious Beliefs vol.=20
4 (2004) Karl
Enenkel and Wolfgang Neuber, Cognition and the Book. Typologies of =
Formal Organisation of Knowledge in the Printed Book of the Early Modern =
Period. vol. 5 Alister Hamilton et alii, The Republic of Letters and the =
Levant vol. 6, Karl Enenkel and Jan Papy, Petrarch and his Readers in =
the Renaissance will appear in 2005.

Call for Papers --- Intersections vol. 8

Traffic and transportation in the Early
Modern Period

One of the distinctive aspects of the Early Modern Period in Western =
Europe is the organisational improvement as well as the increase of =
traffic and transportation. Not only were contacts established with =
'new' countries and continents, but at the same time an intensification =
of contacts occurred between the various countries of Western Europe and =
between the cities within these countries. This expansion and increase =
of contacts were a result of and gave rise to new developments in =
knowledge, technology, and patterns of consumption of food, luxury =
articles and services (such as travelling).

Essay topics might include:
* The development of new means of=20
transportation: by what necessity
were they created, what were their consequences in the short and in the =
longer term, and what new needs and knowledge did they generate? *
  How far did the cultural, political and social consequences of the =
increasing mobility reach? Did it lead to the opening up of new areas or =
rather to the improvement and expansion of existing routes to known =
places? Did it lead to new contacts and connections, or only to a more =
intensive use of already existing routes? Was there an increase in =
travelling, or did people just travel faster and more conveniently? * =
Who used the new means of transportation, and who profited most from =
them? Did they give rise to new social classes or different social
relationships? * What were the consequences of=20
the increasing
mobility on intellectual fields? Was there a concomitant increase in =
mail and correspondence, and consequently a faster and wider exchange
of news, information, ideas and concepts? * How=20
were the new
developments of traffic and transportation represented and assessed in =
the arts and literature? Did they give rise to new ideas and genres, =
such as landscape painting, travel literature and utopian themes? * Did =
the new means of transportation and the increasing mobility have =
consequences for the infrastructure of Western Europe? Did they affect =
city planning and the design of buildings, for instance due to the need =
for parking space for new and bigger vehicles?

Proposals are invited for contributions discussing these and other =
aspects relating to the increasing mobility in the Early Modern Period, =
such as the consequences for warfare, diplomacy and trade.
Proposals of maximum 300 words should be sent by e-mail to the secretary =
of the editorial board of Intersections, Dr. Jan L. de Jong, =, before 1 October 2005. The authors of the proposals =
that have been accepted will be invited to write a paper of 6.000 words =
(including notes) before 1 september 2006. The final decision on the =
acceptance of any paper will be made by the editors following receipt of =
the complete text.

Call for Papers --- Intersections vol. 9:

Spirits Unseen: The Representation of Subtle Bodies in Early Modern =
European Culture

Spirits - gaseous, vaporous, volatile "subtle bodies" (corpora subtilia) =
- occupied a prominent place in early modern thought. The terms =
"spiritus" or "corpora subtilia" may refer to angels, demons and souls =
as well as those immaterial or corpuscular energies, virtues and small =
atomic particles that regulated natural phenomena and =
psycho-physiological functions, in fact the whole universe and its laws. =
Early modern notions of spirits and subtle bodies often combined
observation, empirical evidence and religious doctrine.

Despite increasing interest in early modern cosmologies, little =
attention has been paid to problems of the representation of spirits. =
For this reason, volume 9 of Intersections seeks to initiate a =
discussion on the ways in which ethereal or subtle bodies were imagined, =
described and represented in early modern philosophical, scientific, =
religious, moral and artistic discourse. What qualities were associated =
with energies and subtle substances in early modernliterary, poetic and =
scientific texts? How were spirits and invisible bodies depicted in the =
visual arts or staged in the theatre? In which
respects do representational codes and conventions change over time and =
differ according to social and cultural contexts and conditions?

In particular, contributions are encouraged that discuss descriptions, =
depictions and meanings of spirits across various=20
disciplines and cultural practices, or that consider competing =
representations indifferent visual and textual media over a broader =
period of time. Papers may focus on such aspects of early modern natural =
philosophy, medicine and magic as the origin of fossils, crystals and =
rocks; the phenomena of light, heat, gravity and electromagnetism; the =
propertiesof the air; the substance dreams were made of; the effects of =
music on
the animal spirits of the body. Contributions on experiments, projects =
and executed works that (re)define models of vision and sensory =
perception are also welcome. Early modern optics offers a particularly =
rich field for further research: the fascination with catoptrical =
machines and other devices of visual deception; the uses and functions =
of mirrors and magnifying lenses in science, warfare and religious =

As unseen and invisible bodies spirits aroused artistic fantasy and =
imagination. Possible topics include the iconography of sounds and =
sights (in painting, the emblem literature and other literary and =
pictorial genres) and the role of spirits and ghosts as literary motifs =
and personae. The religious disputes of the sixteenth century led to =
conflicting views in Protestant and Catholic culture concerning ghosts =
and other apparitions as well as the physics of the transubstantiation. =
Liturgical and devotional practices provide another fruitful area of =
research: the construction of monstrances and other receptacles for the =
exhibition of the host and relics; the use of talismans and amulets.

The volume is scheduled to appear in 2007.=20
Proposals, about 300 words, should be sent (preferably electronically) =
no later than October 1st, 2005 to:=20
Christine G=F6ttler=20
Division of Art History,=20
University of Washington=20
Box 353440 Seattle, WA 98195-3440=20

For more information on this volume please contact Christine G=F6ttler.


J.L. de Jong,
Institute for the History of Art and Architecture,
Groningen University,
P.O. Box 716,
9700 AS Groningen,
The Netherlands,
tel. (+31) 50 - 3636091, fax: (+31) 50 - 3637362



For any queries, please contact:

Richard Todd,
Professor, British literature after 1500
Faculty of Arts
University of Leiden
PO Box 9515
The Netherlands

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Received on Sun Sep 04 2005 - 08:46:29 EDT