Normal science? Everyday knowledge practices in times of calm and crisis

Woudschoten, 19-20 June 2026

Deadline for proposals: 16 January 2026

The times, they are a-changin’. But is research changing with them? At the 11th Gewina Woudschoten Conference, we would like to investigate how daily research routines are, or are not, affected by shifting world orders, environmental disasters, pandemics, wars and other calamities.

We know that (perceived) crises often affect what research is being done: scientists follow society’s needs, or at least its money. Here, we aim to look at how crises affect how research is being done. How do you organize fieldwork in a war zone? How do you carry out your calculations if there is a shortage of paper? How do you collaborate with international colleagues if you can’t travel to other countries? We aim to focus on the more mundane elements of science, to explore how crises shape scientists’ daily routines – and to what extent the everyday routines help scientists navigate crises. In addition, reflections on how current developments may determine our own practices as historians are also welcome.
Related topics could include:

• Aspects of the daily lives of everyone involved in knowledge production, such as practices, routines, material culture, work-life balance, and impact on test subjects (including non-human ones), in institutionalized scientific contexts and other sites of knowledge production.
• The relationship between these aspects and wider social, political and environmental developments and crises.
• Our own daily practices as academics: how do we work with our expertise, and how do we relate to today’s social, political and environmental context?
• A reflection on the topic of the conference: what is a crisis (in science or society)? What is the role of crisis perception? Can we speak of crisis sciences or crisis knowledge?
• The connection between crises and the history of science as a discipline: have we fully abandoned Kuhnian paradigm changes and crises? Is there ‘normal science’ in an age of crisis?

As always, talks can cover any period or field. And, changing times notwithstanding, we also invite contributions that do not directly relate to the conference theme but aim to give an update on ongoing activities (research, teaching, outreach) in the history of knowledge in the broadest sense of the word.

Possible formats:

• 20- or 90-minute contribution. Different formats are welcome: presentation(s), discussion, hands-on, interactive, panel, etc. 20-minute contributions can be individual; 90-minute contributions should involve multiple contributors.
• 5-minute contribution (can be additional to another contribution): talk about or show something very concrete. The format is free: it can be a short talk, a discussion, a performance, a dance, … You can use it to discuss, for example: teaching, outreach, methodology, mistakes or failures.
• pecha kucha presentation (master students or beginning PhD students)
• Feel free to contact the organization beforehand to discuss possible formats, vague suggestions and wild ideas.

Please send your proposal of max. 150 words to gewina.woudschoten@uu.nl
The deadline for proposals is 16 January 2026.
Please feel free to indicate any accessibility needs – we will do our best to accommodate them!

Organizing committee

David Baneke, Hieke Huistra, Toine Pieters, Stephen Snelders, Daan Wegener, Robert-Jan Wille (Freudenthal Institute / Descartes Centre, Utrecht University)