Report 31st of March 2014

Writing-up work

I have presented two chapter drafts at the project meetings this term:

  • 16th of Jan: Chapter 5. Tea and silk in the North: geographies and chronologies
  • 6th of March: Chapter 4. Relocation and substitution – a local and global history of dyeing and drinking

I submitted a sample chapter and a revised book proposal to Palgrave, the proposal has been accepted and I have been offered a book contract. I have also submitted an application to Letterstedskafonden, a fund supporting research on Scandinavia, to cover costs for colour images to be included in my monograph.

I am also in the process to finish work on my article (this week hopefully),“Knowledge Generation, Education and Careers – the Role of Travelling in Linnaean Natural History” for edited volume Travel, Agency, and the Circulation of Knowledge, ed. GesaMackenthun, Rostock.

I submitted and had accepted an entry “Chartered Companies” (3000 words) for The Encyclopedia of Empire , ed. John MacKenzie.

Archive work

7th to the 14th of March 2014 I visit to the National Archive and Royal Library in Copenhagen. The main purpose of my visit this time was to take pictures of the remaining negotiation protocols. Since this series (Negotie-Protocolervol 1116-1156) is very extensive a large part of my time was taken up taking pictures of this material. I did also take add to my collection of pictures of the Account books (Kasse and Hovedboger) in order to extend some of my statistical series to match my investigation of the Danish company with the time span of the first two charters of the Swedish company. I also looked and photographed the private archive of the supercargo ChristianLindrup, which contains papers re. his trade in Canton. (Lintrup 5893). The remaining time was spent in the Royal Library going over documents relating to the East India trade, I found some very useful statistics on the value of the import and the re-export (NKS 793 b 4). During my stay I also gave a lecture at Copenhagen University where I touched on the tea trade (although the main topic of the lecture was the travels of Linnaeus and his students). I also had dinner with the Danish Historian Dan H. Andersen, he worked on early modern consumption although mainly with statistics (together with Erik Helmer Pedersen he wrote A History of Prices and Wages in Denmark, 1660-1800. Vol. II. 2004).

Workshops, Conferences etc.

Between the 20th and 24th of January: together with David Lambert I organized two out of three events (workshop on Sierra Leone and seminar on biography writing) taking place in co-junction with Deidre Coleman’s visit as an IAS scholar at Warwick, between.

On the 17th of February I presented a paper “On Race, Rights and Resources: Adam Afzelius in London and Sierra Leone, 1789 – 1799” at a workshop (Empire of Enlightenment) to which I had been invited. The workshop took place at Teleborg Castle, Växjö, Sweden, and was organised by Linda Burnett Anders (Linnéuniversitetet) and Bruce Buchan (Griffith University)

On the 27th of Feb. I attended the workshop Japan, Asia and the World Trading System in the Long Nineteenth Century, Warwick.

On the 29th of March, I presenteda paper “Asian silk in eighteenth century Scandinavia – quantities, colour schemes and impact” in the panel Silk, at the Economy History Society, Annual Conference, Warwick.

Future workshops and conference

I am currently working preparing my contribution to the session "Scandinavian trade with Asia and 18th-century consumption culture", at the SvenskaHistorikermötet (Swedish History Conference) on the 8-9 May 2014.

I am also engaged in co-organising the workshop"Asian goods in 18th century Scandinavia – trade, material culture and changing consumer patterns" which will take place in Stockholm between the 22-24 of May, 2014.

I have also been invited to give a paper on colours at the conference Visualising difference: objects, space and practice in early modern Europe, which will take place at the Nordic Museum in Stockholm between the 10-12 of October 2014.

Teaching

I gave one lecture on the 13th of January, “Collecting and ordering natural history and knowledge” for the course The Enlightenment.

Professional development

I have attended several workshops on teaching and digitalisation:

14th of Jan. Large and small group Teaching (PCAPP)

20th of Jan. “Digitizing Texts and Manuscripts: William Godwin's diary (Mark Philp, Warwick)

29th of Jan. “Reviewing and evaluating your teaching”(PCAPP)

12th of Feb. “How Student learn” (PCAPP)

I had my teaching observed at two occasion, at my lecture on the 13th of January (by Manus Conaghan) and on the 21st of January (by David Lambert, as I chaired the “Master class” on the Falconbridge Diaries). I also observed Michael Harrigan’s seminar on the 4th of March.