About conference
The term “egodocument” was coined by the Dutch scholar Jacob Presser in the 1950s, as pertaining to sources written by oneself about oneself and containing the particle “I”. In the 1980s, Rudolf Dekker has done significant work to promote the study of egodocuments, in which he included diaries, almanacs, autobiographical texts, journals, memoirs, travel accounts and letters, which until then and at times also nowadays were regarded as marginal and unreliable. Yet, egodocuments, when carefully examined, contextualised and cross-referenced, offer an important source for the study of various domains of human life, politics and even nature. One of such domains is the emerging field of early modern privacy. While there is no definition of what privacy meant in the early modern period, the sources, and in particular egodocuments, often refer to the private sphere and unveil the sentiments and practices of their authors about what can be considered as “privacy” and “private”.
This year's conference will address topics related to how privacy and private come forward in early modern egodocuments. Topics covered at the conference will include:
- Family relations
- Time and time investment • Health and sickness
- Language of privacy
- Spatial arrangements
- Friendship and collegiality
- Finance and money
- Sleep and rest
A collective volume is aimed to be published based on a selection of papers presented at the conference with one of the leading academic publishers, such as Brill.
The conference "Egodocuments and Privacy in the Early Modern Era "will be broadcast on the YouTube channel of the Faculty of Philosophy and History of the University of Lodz. Links to the broadcast below:
Egodocuments and Privacy in the Early Modern Era - Day 1, Part 1 (19.10.2023, 10:00)
Egodocuments and Privacy in the Early Modern Era - Day 1, Part 2 (19.10.2023, 15:00)
Egodocuments and Privacy in the Early Modern Era - Day 2 (20.10.2023, 09:00)
Conference program
19 October 2023
Institute of History, Kamińskiego Street 27a, Room 103
10.00–10.15 – welcome
I panel (10.15–11.05)
Chair: Ineke Huysman
- Michaël Green (University of Lodz), Egodocuments and Privacy in the Early Modern Era
- Łukasz Jan Korporowicz (University of Lodz), Sir James Mackintosh’s Opinion on Criminal Law and Court Practice Through his Memoirs and Letters
Discussion
Coffee break (11.05–11.20)
II panel (11.20–12.10)
Chair: Jakub Basista
- Jørgen Mührmann-Lund (University of Copenhagen), The Travel Book of Christian Güldencrone (app. 1700)
- Tsila Rädecker (independent researcher), Jewishness and Privacy in the Travelogue of Abraham Levie (1764)
Discussion
Convenience break (12.10–12.20)
III panel (12.20–13.10)
Chair: Katarzyna Kuras
- Anna Kowalcze-Pawlik (University of Lodz), Negotiating Life – Writing the Self: Elizabeth Cary
- Joanna Orzeł (University of Lodz), „It is nice to have a living memory of the things that make up the range of our lives; it’s still nicer to write them yourself, although no one cares about it”. The Reasons for Writing Down Memoirs by Women in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries
Discussion
Lunch at the Conference Centre (13.30–15.00)
Keynote lecture (15.00–15.50)
Chair: Joanna Orzeł
Rudolf Dekker (Centre for the Study of Egodocuments and History / Erasmus University Rotterdam), The Privacy of the Prison. Writing about Yourself in Jail, 1500–2000
Discussion
Coffee break (15.50–16.05)
IV panel (16.05–16.55)
Chair: Tsila Rädecker
- Jakub Basista (Jagiellonian University, Cracow), The Making of a Hero: Virginia Narratives of John Smith and the Subtle Use of Privacy as a Tool to Promote Himself
- Nataliia Voloshkova (Kazimierz Wielki University, Bydgoszcz), Bluestockings and Their Spaces of Privacy in Conversation and Writing: The Case of Mary Hamilton
Discussion
Convenience break (16.55–17.05)
V panel (17.05–17.55)
Chair: Johannes Ljungberg
- Katarzyna Kuras (Jagiellonian University, Cracow), Privacy of Princes. The Correspondence between the Members of the House of Wettin in the Middle of the 18th Century
- Olga Gaidai (University of Warsaw / Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University, Mykolaiv), Elements of Privacy in the Manuscript of Dr. Franz Karl Heinz, 1780–1781
Discussion
Conference dinner at the Conference Centre (18.45)
20 October 2023
Institute of History, Kamińskiego Street 27a, Room 103
Keynote lecture (9.00–9.50)
Chair: Michaël Green
François-Joseph Ruggiu (Sorbonne Université / Oxford University), What Was Private in Early Modern Privacy? What Was Intimate in Early Modern Intimacy? An Exploration Through the French Personal Writings
Discussion
Coffee break (9.50–10.05)
VI panel (10.05–10.55)
Chair: Jørgen Mührmann-Lund
- Gijs Versteegen (Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid), Imperial Privacy Invented in A False Egodocument: The Libro Áureo De Marco Aurelio
- Ineke Huysman (Huygens Institute, Amsterdam), The Person behind Johan de Witt: The Daily Life of the Grand Pensionary and His Circles
Discussion
Convenience break (10.55–11.05)
VII panel (11.05–12.30)
Chair: Nataliia Voloshkova
- Jakub Węglorz (University of Wrocław), Writing about the State of Health in Old Polish Correspondence and Diaries in the Context of Privacy
- Laura Prins (Amsterdam UMC & Utrecht University), Reflections on Suffering and the Pathologization of Genius
- Olga Morozova (University of Warsaw) and Marek Mikołajczyk (Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznań), Poland in the Relations of Representatives of Western Countries in the 17th–18th Centuries
Discussion
Coffee break (12.30–12.40)
Concluding discussion (12.40–13.00)
Lunch at the Conference Centre (13.30–14.30)
Excursion (14.30)
