Call for Articles: Scholarly Codes of Conduct in the 20th Century
Vous trouverez ci-dessous un appel à articles pour un numéro spécial intitulé *Scholarly Codes of Conduct in the Twentieth Century, *coordonné par Joris Vandendriessche (KU Leuven) et moi-même.
Ce numéro spécial s’inscrit dans le cadre du projet GLOBAL ACADEMIES (Global Academies – Cultural History since 1750 (kuleuven.be) <www.arts.kuleuven.be/cultuurgeschiedenis/en/current-projects-/global-academies>) financé par le Conseil Européen de la Recherche (ERC).
La date limite de soumission des propositions (environ 500 mots) est le *15 avril 2024.*
N’hésitez pas à faire circuler cet appel à articles auprès des personnes susceptibles d’être intéressé.e.s.
Bien cordialement, Anna Cabanel et Joris Vandendriessche
*CALL FOR ARTICLES*
*Scholarly Codes of Conduct in the 20**th** Century*
*Editors: *
*Joris **Vandendriessche and Anna Cabanel*
Scholarly codes of conduct are shared rules among scholars and scientists outlining the norms and proper practices of an individual or a scientific community. A compelling example of such codes of conduct is the Nuremberg Code, a set of ethical research principles for human experimentation established after WWII, following the trial of USA v. Brandt, also known as the ‘Doctors’ Trial.’ The Code is still used today, beyond its original purpose, to control and regulate practices of human experimentation.
Scholarly codes of conduct can be formal or informal. Formal codes of conduct, such as the Nuremberg Code, are often clearly identifiable, emanating from a scientific authority or established entity. They control scientific research and practices (ethical guidelines, statements of professional standards) and draw a line between the insiders – seen as legitimate scientists – and others. For instance, the strict membership definition of some scientific societies aims to establish who is ‘in’ and ‘out.’ Other scientific codes of conduct can be more implicit and subtle and, therefore, more challenging to grasp. These rules and customs dictate how scientists behave in different settings (e.g., how to dress, how to ask a question at a conference, how to write a scientific article), among themselves (e.g., understanding sensitivities and hierarchies), and regulate mechanisms of scientific socialization. Because of their informal and implicit nature, they (un)- intentionally shape a group of insiders who understand and perform them while excluding others. This function may also reveal that *scholarly *codes of conduct are, to an important extent, *social *codes of conduct that affect how scholars interact. The habit of smoking during conference breaks, for instance, has long contributed to excluding women from informal networking, as Margaret Rossiter demonstrated. The understanding of ‘unspoken’ codes of conduct is crucial to analyze how scientific communities function and address issues of in- and exclusion in science.
This Call for Articles invites potential contributors to look at the regulatory role of scholarly societies or institutions within an expanding and diversifying community in the twentieth century. Scholarly institutions offer an excellent lens to study the mechanisms of scientific sociability and the evolution of shared codes of conduct. Through different means (e.g., physical meetings, informal interactions, scientific publications, membership allocation, and mechanisms of recognition such as prizes), they shape and promote formal and informal codes of conduct and forge distinctive communities. While scholars are increasingly paying attention to the practices and ‘rites’ that shape such community building, the flip side of scientists’ group formation, as a process also resulting in exclusion and contestation, must still be further investigated. Inspired by Michèle Lamont’s seminal work on funding boards’ tendency to privilege like-minded research (homophily), among other studies, such research may reveal how scientific codes of conduct have, perhaps unintentionally, shaped and reinforced hierarchies within scholarly institutions. We therefore particularly welcome studies that uncover (global) disparities within scholarly institutions, researching, for example, the precarious position of scientists stemming from (formerly) colonial territories, of political dissidents, women scientists, migrant scholars, or scientists with minority backgrounds.
We welcome historical contributions focusing on different fields in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences at large (natural and biomedical sciences). Exploring scholarly codes of conduct might combine top-down and bottom-up approaches to understand how such codes were elaborated, negotiated, and performed in different contexts. We encourage contributions examining not only the circulation and transfer of codes of conduct but also their contestation by different groups of scientists, particularly in times of political crisis (e.g., Italian professors refusing the oath to Mussolini imposed by the fascist movement in 1931) and social crisis (e.g., contestation of established codes of conduct in the light of the movements related to civil rights, free speech, and sexual liberation). Addressing the tension between the international and national levels and, in the context of (de)colonization, between the colonizing countries and their (emancipated) colonies might be fruitful to understand better the circulation, transfer, and contestation of scholarly codes of conduct. Contributions might depart from an institutional perspective, focusing on scientific societies, or from a biographical or prosopographical one, concentrating on an individual or a group of scientists. Helène Metzger’s trajectory as a French female astronomer illustrates, for instance, how scientists from marginalized groups used international channels to claim a place and recognition denied to them in their own country.
Examples of topics are, but are *not restricted* to:
· The influence of funding agencies and fellowship programs on the position of women scientists, and other minority groups in the academic and scientific worlds;
· Codes of conduct on the move: scholarly migration, exile, and travel, and their impact on the function of scientific institutions
· Scholarly societies’ responses to members’ political views, ranging from communist views within American academia to the expression of Pan-Africanism in post-colonial African institutions
· Assimilation, adaption, and contestation of scientific codes of conduct in the context of (de)colonization;
· Formal and informal codes of conduct at play during (international) conferences
· Interactions between women scholars, male scholars and their wives at scientific meetings
· Scientific (group) portraits: a visual analysis of (embodied) codes of conduct;
· The history of codes of conduct and scandals: from the Nuremberg Code to the me-too movement in science,
· The making of ‘global’ scholarly codes of conduct: are scientific codes of conduct truly international or even global?
· Codes of conduct, politics and science: (re)admission and exclusion of ‘problematic’ regimes within international scientific organizations
· The contestation of established scholarly codes of conduct in times of political and social crisis
· …
*Submission guidelines *
Articles abstract (no longer than 500 words) clearly describing the proposed paper’s focus, methodology, and relevance to the issue’s theme should be submitted *before 15 April 2024* to Joris Vandendriessche ( joris.vandendriessche@kuleuven.be) and Anna Cabanel ( anna.cabanel@kuleuven.be), accompanied by a short biography. The authors of the selected proposals will be invited to two authors’ workshops to ensure the coherence of the special issue. The submission deadline for full papers (up to 8000 words, including notes and references) is *15 April 2025*.
*Tentative schedule *
· Deadline for abstract submission: 15 April 2024
· Notifications on acceptance by editors: early July 2024
· Submission first draft (about 5000 words): 16 September 2024
· First authors workshop (on-site, in Leuven): mid-October
· Submission full paper (up to 8000 words): 10 January 2025
· Second authors’ workshop (hybrid): mid-February 2025
· Submission of the final paper: 15 April 2025.
This special issue is part of the ERC-funded project GLOBAL ACADEMIES (Global Academies – Cultural History since 1750 (kuleuven.be) <www.arts.kuleuven.be/cultuurgeschiedenis/en/current-projects-/global-academies>). The issue will be available in open access, and language revision will be provided before the final submission to the journal.