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Quarrels, Polemics and Controversies 
An international conference organised by 
THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR INTELLECTUAL HISTORY 
Trinity College, Cambridge, UK 
21-24 July 2001 
 
The intellectual world offers an ideal of tolerance, brotherhood and  
peace; far from being mere rhetoric, such an ideal was and is  
instrumental in many projects and their realisations.  Nevertheless,  
from Antiquity to the present day, no field of knowledge, no area of  
learning, no discipline has escaped quarrels, polemics or  
controversies during its formation or diffusion. These quarrels have  
generated an enormous bibliography, but there is no modern,  
comprehensive study of this phenomenon. This conference offers a  
forum for a general enquiry into quarrels as a major form of the  
expression and organisation of knowledge.  What, it will ask, have  
been the status, place and functions of quarrels in the intellectual  
world? Important axes for such an enquiry might include the  
following:   
 
1.  HISTORIOGRAPHY AND DISCOURSE. Studies in this area  
may include research on: ancient works reporting or describing  
quarrels; concepts of polemics, quarrels, controversies, etc.; the  
vocabulary used in describing and reporting quarrels; the discursive  
modes used in works about quarrels; why people wrote about  
quarrels;  how a quarrel becomes an historiographic object.   
 
2.  MODES AND FORMS. Topics may include: the dynamics of a  
quarrel (from the initial outbreak to its conclusion; internal and  
external elements); difference of names and of forms; rituals; the  
place and role of violence (verbal, psychological or physical);  
specific "literary" genres produced or linked to quarrels (e.g.  
pamphlets, satires, etc.)   
 
3. POWER-GAMES AND STAKES. Studies may be based on:  
quarrels as an expression of power; as a means of controlling a  
discipline or an institution; the role of national and nationalistic  
claims; priorities; personal pride and glory; financial or economic  
stakes.   
 
4.  ACTORS AND JUDGES.  Questions in this area may include:  
how are parties in a quarrel formed (individuals, groups, followers,  
partisans, backers etc.)? What kind of division and re-composition  
of the cultural and intellectual milieu is involved? Who defines or  
resolves the issue of a quarrel? What are the roles of peers,  
learned institutions (e.g. academies, university boards), external  
institutions (e.g. law courts)?   
 
5. ORDERS OF KNOWLEDGE. This may include studies on:  
debates over the positive or negative role of quarrels; quarrels and  
"tradition"; quarrels and "official science"; quarrels and truth;  
quarrels and authority; quarrels as contributing to the definition of a  
field; polemic and proof; quarrels and ethics; theoretical or  
philosophical examination of the epistemological status of quarrels.  
  
 
Papers may draw on quarrels in any cultural field, European or non- 
European, throughout history, including present-day topics. We  
welcome papers that engage with at least one of the topics raised  
above. This list, however,is neither prescriptive nor authoritative,  
and we are happy to consider proposals for other kinds of analysis.  
Please contact the organisers (addresses below) for further  
queries. We wish to emphasise, nevertheless,that we expect  
contributions to extend beyond a purely narrative account of a  
particular controversy.   
 
Interested scholars from any field are welcome. We particularly  
encourage proposals from younger scholars, for whom a limited  
number of residential grants will be available.   
 
Proposals for papers and panels 
 
Papers may be in English, French, German, Italian or Spanish;  
English résumés will be provided by the speakers. The conference  
will be organised in 90- or 120-minute sessions. Each session will  
have a moderator or chair and at least 30 minutes for general  
discussion, which will offer a crucial platform for debate and  
analysis.   
 
Proposals for a panel should include the names of 3-4 speakers  
and of the moderator; and a summary of each paper. Proposals for  
an individual contribution should be an outline (1-2 pages) for a 20- 
minute talk.   
 
Please state clearly institutional affiliation and address, and  
preferred method of communication (postal/fax/email).   
 
Organisers 
FRANÇOISE WAQUET, 36 rue de la Glacière, 75013, Paris, France 
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EDOARDO TORTAROLO, [log in to unmask]  
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Deadline for Proposals: 31 December 2000 
 
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