Call for panels
Technological change has long occupied a prominent place in theories and histories of globalisation and global flows of resources. Whether as means of transport and communication that shrink time and open up spaces of contact, or as artefacts and media that create a common experience across cultures, technologies can be seen as enablers of globalisation and resource flows. At the same time, technological change is not an external process: The development and diffusion of technology follows economic, political, and scientific imperatives; its failure and success depend on the wider natural, social and historical context. It can be appropriated to ward off global influences or to advance projects of globalisation. The common project of entrepreneurs and revolutionaries to 'electrify the earth' (Carl Schmitt) – to make human life everywhere dependent on industry and technology – has created a vast, interconnected but highly uneven technological sphere.
The 2024 RecentGlobe Annual Conference seeks to rethink the relationship between technology and globalisation and their role in the shaping of resource flows at a time when both concepts seem to be losing their meaning.
ReCentGlobe invites scholars to submit panel proposals by Thursday, the 15th of February. More information.