INVITATION

to the
Interdisciplinary PhD Summer School

Technologies and their Environments:
The Circulation of Materials, People, and Knowledge in 20th-Century Europe

organized by
the Graduate School "Topology of Technology"
and
the International Collaborative Network "Tensions of Europe"

This interdisciplinary PhD summer school explores the embedding of modern technologies in their environments through concepts such as "circulation," "metabolism," and "ubiquity." Focusing on 20th-century Europe, it investigates how technology has become so closely intertwined with its surroundings that the old distinction between culture and nature no longer seems to make sense. Rivers like the Rhine have been turned into traffic arteries, and Scandinavian forests have been transformed into plantations. To supply Europe with fresh tomatoes and masses of tourists with fresh water, Andalusian wells are nowadays drilled up to 1 km deep and surface water is being piped in from ever more distant areas. Quickened by the globalization of the world's economy and the internationalization of engineering knowledge, technologies now span the world and threaten to reduce the earth to little more than a source of raw materials. Fresh air and water—what in Europe used to be called "common goods"—are not only becoming increasingly rare, but also increasingly commercialized.

The summer school explicitly problematizes and historizes these developments. It asks how the situation just described has evolved and by what means these negative developments may be arrested or deflected. Its focus lies on 20th-century Europe, but comparisons with other parts of the globe will also be undertaken and the successive globalization of environmental problems will be discussed.

The one-week course takes familiar discourses as its point of departure. For example, critical philosophers, historians, and sociologists have for some time now analyzed our dependence on technology by speaking of a "second nature," and concerned scientists and engineers have tried to reduce the “environmental impact” of production processes and products. In technology studies concepts such as "infrastructure," "system," and "network" have been applied to analyze the close relationship between technology and society, and in environmental studies the impact of our lifestyle has been investigated by means of a concept like "ecological footprint."

The organizers of the summer school acknowledge the importance of these approaches, but wish to go one step further. By exploring the potentials of the so-called spatial turn in the social sciences and the humanities, they hope to contribute both theoretically and methodologically to the development of a "topology of technology." This implies that we encourage applications from PhD students who deal with spatial aspects of technology. Students who are interested in the potential of a topological approach for understanding the technological integration of Europe are especially welcome.

The organizers invite PhD candidates from various fields to spend one week together to discuss the historical origins and future challenges of a system that has become increasingly problematic to sustain. Only by combining insights and perspectives from several disciplines will it be possible to increase our awareness of the increasing omni-presence of technological systems and products in various environments. The program is deliberately interdisciplinary, and the teachers come from history, sociology, and engineering.

Requirements and Credits
All participating PhD candidates are expected
- to read the provided set of texts (ca. 300 pages) in preparation for the course
- to take an active part in discussions
- to give a 20-minute oral presentation in English on their dissertation theme
In addition, those students who wish to receive a diploma need to submit a 15-page (6,000 words) paper in English on one aspect of their dissertation or on a topic discussed in the course before 15 Sept., 2007. Students who fulfill all these requirements will receive a diploma for 6 ECTS credits (work load: 180 hours) from the organizers.

Organizers

The summer school is organized by the graduate school "Topology of Technology," a newly established program at Darmstadt University of Technology, funded by the German Research Council (DFG) (www.ifs.tu-darmstadt.de/gradkoll-tdt), and by the international collaborative network and research program "Tensions of Europe," coordinated by the Foundation for the History of Technology at Eindhoven University of Technology (www.histech.nl/tensions). The goal of the interdisciplinary graduate school is to improve our knowledge of the spatial aspects of technical change and usage. In the Tensions of Europe research network the ambition is to get a better understanding of the emergence of Europe by using concepts such as circulation and appropriation of technologies and knowledge.

Costs

The participation fee amounts to 195 €, incl. (subsidized) accommodation for five nights in a double-room and full board, but excl. travel costs. All additional local costs will be carried by "Topology of Technology" and "Tensions of Europe." PhD candidates who are not able to raise the necessary amount for travel and lodging may apply for funds.

Formalities

PhD candidates interested in the topic are invited to apply. An application, including a curriculum vitae and a one-page abstract of the PhD project, should be submitted no later than Tuesday, 10 April 2007, to topologie@ifs.tu-darmstadt.de. Applications for travel grants or fee waivers have to be accompanied by a declaration of the candidate's economic situation and institutional affiliation.

The summer school is planned for 34 participants. In case more students apply, the organizers reserve for themselves the right to make a suitable selection. Please direct any questions you might have to Mikael Hård (hard@ifs.tu-darmstadt.de, tel. +49-61 51 16 30 97) or Dieter Schott (schott@pg.tu-darmstadt.de, tel. +49-61 51 16 20 44).