RHN 2/2017 | Call
Organisers: Edouard Lynch, Professeur d'Histoire Contemporaine, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Laboratoire d'Etudes Rurales, La France; Karen Sayer, Professor of Social and Cultural History, School of Arts and Communication, Leeds Centre for Victorian Studies, Leeds Trinity University, UK; Peter Veer, PhD candidate and cineast, Faculty of Humanities, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Presenting authors)
11-14 September 2017, Leuven, Belgium
Deadline for submissions: 15 January 2017
Panel at the Rural History 2017 Conference
Transforming rural societies in Europe under the eye of the camera
Throughout the 20th century, the use of moving images has increased massively. As they evolve themselves, contemporary rural societies have not been immune to this transformation. Photos and Audiovisual content comes in many shapes: fiction, documentary, informative, artistic, scientific, private. All of these are rich and original sources that historians can use to explore the mutations experienced by contemporary rural societies. This panel will provide a focal point and a forum for debate for the still rare researchers working on photo and audiovisual sources, be they images, sounds or films.
Our starting point will be the modernisation and transformation of agricultural practices. Our sources will be photos and films produced by state actors (such as the ministry of Agriculture, departmental agencies ...) in charge of modernisation, driving new working practices and promoting new social and cultural norms. An additional source will be images created by other audiovisual authors of the process of transformation. These may come from commercial, artistic or sociental organisations or associations, and provide varied representations of the rural world.
The session will provide a better understanding of the context in which agricultural modernisation has been encouraged across rural societies. It will also be the opportunity to reflect on the possible uses of these rich and complex audiovisual sources. How can audiovisuals be included in the creation of a history curriculum, the selection and analysis of content, and their inclusion in the production and the writing of a historical discourse.
If you are interested please contact Peter Veer: p.m.veer@uva.nl