9th PhD Conference in History of Science and Humanities

Soeterbeeck Abbey, 20-21 April 2023

We cordially invite you to the ninth edition of the biennial History of Science and Humanities PhD Conference that will take place on 20 and 21 April, 2023.

The conference aims to bring together PhD candidates in Belgium and the Netherlands who work in the field of the history of science in the broadest sense: including histories of knowledge, technology, medicine, the natural sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences, spanning any time period. The idea is to discuss our work (and work-in progress) in an informal and congenial setting. The conference will take place at Soeterbeeck Abbey (Ravenstein, near Nijmegen) - a delightful monastery turned into a conference centre with ample opportunities to get to know each other in a peaceful, green setting.

Conference Set-up

There will be two types of presentations. We invite propositions for both longer talks (20 to 30 minutes) and short presentations (10-15 minutes), with appropriate time afterwards for questions and discussions. We want to provide the option to choose the type of contribution which suits the speaker the most. The longer talks provide space for, for instance, a thorough discussion of a chapter or article, while the shorter presentations could be used to introduce your project, or to discuss a specific case study.
The language of the conference will be English. To get an idea of the previous in-person conference, see the report on Shells and Pebbles written by a participant.

Application

You can apply by sending an e-mail to vroyen@uliege.be by 16 December 2022. Please include the university you are affiliated with, whether you are applying for a short or a long talk, a title, and a short abstract (approx. 250 words) of the work you would like to present, as well as a short bio. Give your email the subject ‘Application Soeterbeeck 2023’. Notification of participation will be given by February 8.

The participation fee for the conference will depend on the conference setting. It will be €85 at most. It will include (at least) the accommodation and food. We will provide definitive information on these aspects in a later stage. For any further questions, feel free to contact us!

The conference organisers,

• Elske de Waal, Utrecht University
• Valentine Delrue, Ghent University – Ca’ Foscari
• Virgile Royen, University of Liège
• Michiel Bron, Maastricht University