1st International Egodocumental Network Conference
Vilnius University, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, the University of Lodz, and the Egodocumental Research Group (https://egodocuments.umk.pl) organise an international conference focusing on research, development, and changing perceptions of egodocuments in the twenty-first century. The conference aims to bring together scholars from different disciplines to share their insights and to encourage interdisciplinary studies of egodocuments.
The conference will also be the first meeting of the International Egodocumental Network established in December 2023 by the Egodocumental Research Group (Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń and the University of Lodz) to unite scholars from different disciplines working on egodocuments. It provides a platform for discussion, collaboration, and exchange of information between the participants, as well as online research seminars organized twice a year. In this dimension, our conference continues two editions of the Scientific Symposium "Egodocuments, Life-Writing and Autobiographical Texts..." organized at NCU in Toruń in 2022 and 2024.
Keynote speakers
Dr. Nataliia Voloshkova
Kazimierz Wielki University and Oxford Brookes University
Prof. Leona Toker
Hebrew University and Shalem Academic College
Prof. François-Joseph Ruggiu
Sorbonne Université, CNRS and Oxford University
Filip Binder
Czech Academy of Science
Egodocuments Related to the Travels of Bohemian Nobility in the 19th Century and Their Potential for Research (with a Special Focus on British Travels)
The proposed paper explores ego-documents, particularly travel diaries and correspondence, associated with the journeys undertaken by the Bohemian nobility in the long 19th century. The paper will present these documents as valuable sources for interdisciplinary research, from which not only historians may benefit, but also art historians and scholars from other fields. Based on extensive research and analysis of travel-related ego-documents from approximately fifteen nobles, the presentation will illustrate how researchers using them can gain insights into the personality and mental world of the travellers and what topics can be studied through the use of such materials. Hence, the paper will focus on travellers’ perceptions of foreign countries and cultures, on their relationship to landscapes, architecture, history, and art and on the legacies of these journeys which can be traced through the study of ego-documents (for example inspiration regarding building projects). Special attention will be paid to travels to Great Britain, which was a popular destination for the nobility in the long 19th century, and which influenced the culture, architecture, industry, and lifestyle of the Bohemian nobility in significant ways.
