Call for Papers
Second Call
Cognition and Evolution in Historical and Social Research
September 23–24, 2025, Lund, Sweden
https://www.kultur.lu.se/cehsr2025
Over recent decades, cognitive science have significantly reshaped our understanding of human thought, while modern evolutionary theory has provided robust explanations of the biological origin of Homo sapiens. Yet, despite these transformative developments, cognitive and evolutionary perspectives remain under-integrated within mainstream historical and social research. This conference seeks to address this lacuna by exploring how cognitive and evolutionary approaches can enrich our understanding of the human condition in historical and societal contexts.
Recent advances in cognitive science, neuroscience, and genetics compel historians and social scientists to re-evaluate foundational paradigms. Concepts such as the embodied mind, situated and distributed cognition, and conceptual metaphor theory are increasingly applied within the humanities and social sciences, particularly in fields such as linguistics, literary studies, archaeology, and religious studies. Concurrently, emerging research in cultural evolution and cognitive theory has fostered a biologically and culturally grounded view of humans as products of long-standing bio-cultural co-evolutionary processes.
Evolutionary frameworks have gained traction in newly established interdisciplinary domains, including evolutionary cultural studies, evolutionary institutional economics, evolutionary linguistics, and cognitive evolution studies. These perspectives prompt historians and social scientists to re-examine core models and analogies—such as those comparing cultural and organismic evolution—and to investigate the roles of variation, selection, and inheritance (retention) within cultural dynamics.
At the heart of these inquiries lies a key question: how do cognitive processes—perception, memory, conceptualisation, embodied action, communicative practices, and institutional forms—function as mental constructs that contribute to social inertia or transformation? This conference invites scholarly contributions that explore these mechanisms and their implications for historical change and long-term social evolution.
The conference will take place at Lund University, Sweden. The nearest international airport is Copenhagen Airport (Denmark), with direct rail connections to Lund Central Station (approximately 35 minutes).
There is no conference fee. Participants are expected to arrange their own travel and accommodation. The event is sponsored by Royal Physiographic Society of Lund.
Confirmed plenary speakers:
* Peter Gärdenfors, Professor of Cognitive Science, Lund University, Sweden; https://www.fil.lu.se/en/person/PeterGardenfors/
* Ruth Mace, Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology, University College London, UK; https://www.ucl.ac.uk/anthropology/people/academic-and-teaching-staff/ruth-…
Suggested topics for papers include (but are not limited to):
* Cognitive history
* Cognitive archaeology
* Cognitive poetics
* Deep history
* Neurohistory
* Evolutionary culture studies
* Evolutionary institutional economics
* Evolutionary political science
* Bio-cultural co-evolution
* Embodied cognition in history and society
* Situated and distributed cognition in history and society
* Perception, memory, and conceptualisation in history and society
* Cognition, language and communication in history and society
Venue:
* LUX, Lecture hall C121, Helgonavägen 3, Lund, Sweden
Key dates:
* Deadline for abstract submission: 1 September 2025
* Notification of acceptance: When abstract is received
* Program published: 7 September 2025
* Conference starts: 23 September 2025, at 13:00
* Conference ends: 24 September, at 12:00
Submission guidelines:
Abstracts (maximum 300 words), along with a short academic biography, should be submitted to David.Duner(a)kultur.lu.se<mailto:David.Duner@kultur.lu.se>no later than 1 September 2025. All presentations will be conducted in English. Scholars are welcome to attend without paper. Just send a message to David Dunér.
Organizing committee:
* David Dunér, Professor of History of Ideas and Sciences, Lund University, Sweden
* Christer Ahlberger, Professor of History, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
* Mikael Sandberg, Professor of Political Science, Halmstad University, Sweden
Please address questions to David.Duner(a)kultur.lu.se<mailto:David.Duner@kultur.lu.se>
** Ber om ursäkt för ev. kors-postning**
Efter fjolårets succé i Uppsala bjuder föreningen Mediehistoriskt Arkiv åter in till symposium, denna gång med temat ” Från lilla till stora mediehistorien”. Temat är tänkt att uppmuntra till presentationer som vågar öka den mediehistoriska förklaringspotentialen bortom de enskilda fallstudierna; Hur går man som forskare från det lilla till det stora? Vilka forskningsfält kan mediehistoria dra nytta av för att skala upp och åstadkomma mer generella slutsatser? Finns det något kvalitativt nytt som uppstår i skärningspunkten mellan exempelvis medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap och historievetenskap?
Temat är inte tvingande – mediehistoriska studier av alla de slag välkomnas.
Abstracts om max 300 ord skickas senast 1 september till pelle.snickars(a)kultur.lu.se<mailto:pelle.snickars@kultur.lu.se>
Mer information i bifogad PDF eller på https://mediehistorisktarkiv.se/mediehistorisk-konferens-2025/
Hjärtligt välkomna!
//Föreningen Mediehistoriskt arkiv
genom
[cid:2eee954c-0ba3-49a0-82d0-fa6fd1d77300]
Jonatan Samuelsson, Ph.D | History of Science and Ideas
Dept. of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies | Umeå University | SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden
Office: +46 90 7866594 | Cell: +46 (0)73 6187166
Orcid: 0000-0002-1450-5857<https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1450-5857>
[cid:7a12080c-d420-437a-8f48-a735d2a89e40]
By sending an email to Umeå University, the University will need to process your personal data.
For more information, please read: https://www.umu.se/en/about-the-website/legal-information/processing-of-per…
När du skickar e-post till Umeå universitet innebär det att universitetet behandlar dina personuppgifter.
Läs mer här: https://www.umu.se/om-webbplatsen/juridisk-information/behandling-av-person…
Hej,
Här kommer schemat för det teknik- och vetenskapshistoriska seminariet i höst. Seminariet är ett samarbete mellan Avd. för teknik, vetenskap och samhälle på Chalmers och Idé- och lärdomshistoria, Göteborgs universitet.
Välkomna!
/Aron och Gustav
========================
Gustav Holmberg
http://www.gustavholmberg.com
PRESSMEDDELANDE OCH INBJUDAN TILL PRISUTDELNING
Svenska nationalkommittén för teknik- och vetenskapshistorias pris till Torsten Althins minne för 2025 tilldelas Solveig Jülich och Malin Thomas Nilsson för boken Embryologiska rum: Tornbladsinstitutets samling av foster från människa och djur.
Nyinstiftade Svenska nationalkommittén för teknik- och vetenskapshistorias pris till Torsten Althins minne syftar till att uppmärksamma det teknik- och vetenskapshistoriska kunskapsområdets institutionella och tematiska bredd. Därtill ska det stärka och motivera den mångfald av institutioner som arbetar med teknik- och vetenskapshistoriska frågor. Priset belönar personer, arbeten eller institutioner som på ett förtjänstfullt sätt verkat för att bevara, sprida eller skapa ny kunskap om teknikens och vetenskapens historia och kulturarv i Sverige, till exempel inom forskning, museer, populärvetenskap, undervisning, arkiv och kulturmiljövård. Bakom priset står Svenska nationalkommittén för teknik- och vetenskapshistoria och Tekniska Museets Vänner.
År 2025 tilldelas priset Solveig Jülich och Malin Thomas Nilsson för boken Embryologiska rum: Tornbladsinstitutets samling av foster från människa och djur. Embryologiska rum är en nydanande bok som skickligt kombinerar text och bild, konst och forskning samt publikt och akademiskt anslag. Boken är vacker och berörande samtidigt som den öppnar nya perspektiv på den medicinska kunskapens historia och ställer viktiga frågor om dess omdiskuterade kulturarv i Sverige. Solveig Jülich är professor i idéhistoria vid Uppsala universitet. Malin Thomas Nilsson är verksam som konstnär, fotograf och formgivare i Malmö.
Prisutdelningen kommer att äga rum i Eventsalen på Tekniska museet i Stockholm torsdagen den 16 oktober 2025 med start 17:00.
Alla är varmt välkomna till prisutdelningen. För att delta, vänligen anmäl er senast den 9 oktober här: https://forms.office.com/e/UBeMu1n9ty. Enklare förfriskningar och tilltugg serveras. Därtill har Tekniska museets restaurang öppet under kvällen.
Kontakt: Jimmy Jönsson, ordförande i prisjuryn, e-post: jimmy.jonsson(a)kultur.lu.se<mailto:jimmy.jonsson@kultur.lu.se>, samt Anna Storm, ordförande i Svenska nationalkommittén för teknik- och vetenskapshistoria, epost: anna.storm(a)liu.se<mailto:anna.storm@liu.se>
/Svenska nationalkommittén för teknik- och vetenskapshistoria och Tekniska Museets Vänner
Dear all,
Please see attached cfp to Renaissance Ecologies – the 7th Conference of the Nordic Network for Renaissance. The conference will take place at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, 8-10 October, 2026. Most welcome to submit abstracts and panel proposals before 28 August 2025.
The conference is organised by the Early Modern Seminar at the Faculty of Arts, University of Gothenburg.
Best wishes,
Cecilia Rosengren
Cecilia Rosengren, Docent
Associate Professor in History of Ideas and Science
Department of Literature, History of Ideas, and Religion (LIR)
University of Gothenburg
Box 200
S-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
cecilia.rosengren(a)lir.gu.se<mailto:cecilia.rosengren@lir.gu.se>
Idéhistoria vid Stockholms universitet har nu utlyst vikariat i idéhistoria som universitetslektor respektive adjunkt för HT 2025.
Annonsen för vikariat som universitetslektor hittar du här:
https://su.varbi.com/what:job/jobID:825115/where:4/
Annonsen för vikariat som adjunkt hittar du här:
https://su.varbi.com/what:job/jobID:825041/where:4/
Sprid gärna information! Sista ansökningsdag är 28 maj 2025.
Vänliga hälsningar
Martin Wiklund
Docent, universitetslektor i idéhistoria
Studierektor i idéhistoria för grundnivå och avancerad nivå
Institutionen för kultur och estetik
Stockholms universitet
106 91 Stockholm
E-post: martin.wiklund(a)idehist.su.se<mailto:martin.wiklund@idehist.su.se>
Call for Papers
Cognition and Evolution in Historical and Social Research
September 23–24, 2025, Lund, Sweden
https://www.kultur.lu.se/cehsr2025
Over recent decades, cognitive science have significantly reshaped our understanding of human thought, while modern evolutionary theory has provided robust explanations of the biological origin of Homo sapiens. Yet, despite these transformative developments, cognitive and evolutionary perspectives remain under-integrated within mainstream historical and social research. This conference seeks to address this lacuna by exploring how cognitive and evolutionary approaches can enrich our understanding of the human condition in historical and societal contexts.
Recent advances in cognitive science, neuroscience, and genetics compel historians and social scientists to re-evaluate foundational paradigms. Concepts such as the embodied mind, situated and distributed cognition, and conceptual metaphor theory are increasingly applied within the humanities and social sciences, particularly in fields such as linguistics, literary studies, archaeology, and religious studies. Concurrently, emerging research in cultural evolution and cognitive theory has fostered a biologically and culturally grounded view of humans as products of long-standing bio-cultural co-evolutionary processes.
Evolutionary frameworks have gained traction in newly established interdisciplinary domains, including evolutionary cultural studies, evolutionary institutional economics, evolutionary linguistics, and cognitive evolution studies. These perspectives prompt historians and social scientists to re-examine core models and analogies—such as those comparing cultural and organismic evolution—and to investigate the roles of variation, selection, and inheritance (retention) within cultural dynamics.
At the heart of these inquiries lies a key question: how do cognitive processes—perception, memory, conceptualisation, embodied action, communicative practices, and institutional forms—function as mental constructs that contribute to social inertia or transformation? This conference invites scholarly contributions that explore these mechanisms and their implications for historical change and long-term social evolution.
The conference will take place at Lund University, Sweden. The nearest international airport is Copenhagen Airport (Denmark), with direct rail connections to Lund Central Station (approximately 35 minutes).
There is no conference fee. Participants are expected to arrange their own travel and accommodation.
Confirmed plenary speakers:
* Peter Gärdenfors, Professor of Cognitive Science, Lund University, Sweden; https://www.fil.lu.se/en/person/PeterGardenfors/
* Ruth Mace, Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology, University College London, UK; https://www.ucl.ac.uk/anthropology/people/academic-and-teaching-staff/ruth-…
Suggested topics for papers include (but are not limited to):
* Cognitive history
* Cognitive archaeology
* Cognitive poetics
* Deep history
* Neurohistory
* Evolutionary culture studies
* Evolutionary institutional economics
* Evolutionary political science
* Bio-cultural co-evolution
* Embodied cognition in history and society
* Situated and distributed cognition in history and society
* Perception, memory, and conceptualisation in history and society
* Cognition, language and communication in history and society
Venue:
* LUX, Lecture hall C121, Helgonavägen 3, Lund, Sweden
Key dates:
* Deadline for abstract submission: 1 September 2025
* Notification of acceptance: 7 September 2025
* Conference starts: 23 September 2025, at 13:00
* Conference ends: 24 September, at 12:00
Submission guidelines:
Abstracts (maximum 300 words), along with a short academic biography, should be submitted to David.Duner(a)kultur.lu.se<mailto:David.Duner@kultur.lu.se> no later than 1 September 2025. All presentations will be conducted in English.
Organizing committee:
* David Dunér, Professor of History of Ideas and Sciences, Lund University, Sweden
* Christer Ahlberger, Professor of History, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
* Mikael Sandberg, Professor of Political Science, Halmstad University, Sweden
Please address questions to David.Duner(a)kultur.lu.se<mailto:David.Duner@kultur.lu.se>
Hej!
Vad sade Werner Heisenberg och Niels Bohr till varandra om möjligheterna med att arbeta på att skapa en atombomb?
För mer än 25 år sedan rönte pjäsen Copenhagen av den brittiske dramatikern Michael Frayn mycket stor framgång över hela världen och som handlar om mötet mellan Werner Heisenberg och Niels Bohr i det ockuperade Köpenhamn 1941. Den spelades över 300 gånger i London och på Broadway och sattes upp både i Göteborg och på Dramaten i Stockholm. Heisenbergs och Bohrs mycket olika uppfattningar av vad som sades under deras möte är inte bara en mycket central tilldragelse i 1900-talets (fysik)historia utan lånade sig till en utmärkt pjäs.
Nu kommer en av världens ledande experter på det nazityska atombombsprojektet, prof. Mark Walker, till CVH/KVA för att föreläsa om:
"History and Legend: Werner Heisenberg’s 1941 Visit with Niels Bohr in Occupied Copenhagen”
Det kommer han att göra utifrån hans nya bok Hitler’s Atomic Bomb: History, Legend, and the Twin Legacies of Auschwitz and Hiroshima på Cambridge University Press.
Föredraget äger rum i Linnésalen på KVA tisdagen 20 maj kl. 16.00.
Man anmäler sig genom att mejla till centrum(a)kva.se<mailto:centrum@kva.se>
Vänliga hälsningar!
Kalle Grandin
<https://www.vetenskapshistoria.se/nyhet/hitlers-atombomb/>
[hitlers-atomic-bomb.jpg]
Föredrag: Hitlers atombomb<https://www.vetenskapshistoria.se/nyhet/hitlers-atombomb/>
vetenskapshistoria.se<https://www.vetenskapshistoria.se/nyhet/hitlers-atombomb/>
Dear colleagues,
We are pleased to invite proposals for the Tenth Norwegian History of Science Conference (NHSC10), which is being organized by NVF - The Norwegian Association for the History of Science<https://foreninger.uio.no/nvf/english/>, and hosted in Bergen, Norway, 5-7 November 2025.
The theme of the conference is "Science and Communication"
About the Conference
The Norwegian History of Science Conference brings together scholars working on the history of science, medicine and technology on any theme, topic, or period to discuss historical, epistemological, political, institutional, and ethical issues of relevance to both Scandinavian and international audiences, welcoming researchers of all nationalities at all stages of their careers. The tenth conference in the series coincides with the 200th anniversary of Bergen Museum, the origins of the University of Bergen, and the local organizers extend a special invitation to those involved in history of science, medicine and technology taking place at museums and collections.
The first Norwegian Conference on the History of Science was organized in Oslo in 2008 with the aim of establishing a national network for historians of science, medicine and technology. Since then, the conference has been hosted biannually in Tromsø, Trondheim, Oslo, and Bergen, and the conference has established itself as a forum for both national and international exchange of ideas and collaboration. At the ninth conference held in Trondheim in 2023, NVF - The Norwegian Association for the History of Science was established to serve as host of the conference.
Theme
The overarching theme of this year's conference is "Science and Communication", understood in a broad sense. Twenty years ago, James Secord argued for studying science as communication, stressing the ways that ideas and practices were moved from one place to another. Following his call, historians of science have offered detailed studies of communication devices such as newspapers, public talks and demonstrations, movies, radio, and the internet have shaped what and how we know things. Others have studied ways to communicate, display, or store scientific knowledge and objects, for example in museums and collections. In the museum sector there has been an increased tendency to address ethical issues associated with the origins of their collections. Several studies have also offered new insights into who has been deemed the ideal science communicator, as well as how ideas about science audiences have changed. Last, but not least, a growing number of studies have offered invaluable insights into what knowledge has been deemed not suitable for communication, or what happens when knowledge is produced against the wishes of the scientist.
While the main theme of the conference is "Science and Communication", papers and panels on other topics related to the history of science, medicine and technology are equally welcome, as the conference aims to reflect ongoing activities in the field and continue to provide an important meeting point.
Keynote lectures will be given by Anne Eriksen from the University of Oslo and Staffan Bergwik from Stockholm University. Eriksen will talk about "Bergen Museum 1825. Knowledge for a Public Sphere", while Bergwik will talk about "Epochs, Trajectories, Rhythms: Visions of Historical Time and Scientific Knowledge in the 20th Century".
Guide for contributors
Proposals for individual papers, organized sessions, and alternative types of sessions (such as round tables, workshops, exhibitions or shorter pitching sessions), are welcomed. Ordinary presentations will be scheduled for 20 minutes. No speaker may present in more than one session. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Programme Committee based on their scientific merit and relevance.
Session proposals should include:
? a brief description of the panel's aims (150 words maximum)
? a session title
? an individual abstract for each paper in the session (250 words maximum)
? full contact details of the organizer and all speakers (including affiliation/postal address and email addresses)
? details of any specific audiovisual equipment required (beyond PPT).
Individual paper proposal should include:
? a paper title
? an abstract (250 words maximum)
? full name and contact details (including affiliation/postal address and email address)
? details of any specific audiovisual equipment required (beyond PPT)
All proposals should be sent as a single electronic document to: historyofscience10(a)gmail.com<mailto:historyofscience10@gmail.com>. Please note that in-person attendance is expected. The conference language is English, although limited parts of the program may be in Scandinavian languages.
The deadline for submissions is May 15, 2025. A conference website will be set up at https://nhsc10.w.uib.no (in development). For any queries regarding the conference, please contact magnus.vollset(a)uib.no<mailto:magnus.vollset@uib.no>
Best regards,
Annette Lykknes, Chair of The Norwegian Association for the History of Science
Magnus Vollset. Chair of the local organizing committee
