Jonathan Conlin talks agency, emplotment and subjectivity with Laura Almagor and Haakon Ikonomou, editors of a new volume addressing global biography.
Laura is Lecturer in Twentieth-Century European History at the University of Sheffield. Haakon is Associate Professor at The Saxo Institute, University of Copenhagen.
For too long global history has seemed oddly impersonal: where present, individuals have functioned as little more than placeholders illustrating global trends. This despite the obvious ways in which all of us experience apparent historical “ruptures” and emplot our own life narratives across and through them. In their recent volume, co-edited with Gunvor Simonsen, Laura and Haakon present a set of case studies, including several figures drawn from the (Post) Ottoman world: the barrister-turned-diplomat Thanassis Aghnides, Albanian leader Fan Noli and Young Turk Finance Minister Cavid Bey. In this podcast, recorded on 23 September 2022 they reflect on the status of biography as scholarly “output” and the ways in which concepts of the “exceptional normal” and Ricoeurian “emplotment” shaped their approach.
Episode 20 – Biography Goes Global
Podcasts are published by TLP for the purpose of encouraging informed debate on the legacies of the events surrounding the Lausanne Conference. The views expressed by participants do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of TLP, its partners, convenors or members.
MAIN IMAGE: SIGNATURES FROM A PETITION OF WOOL EXPORTERS (BAGHDAD) TO THE US AMBASSADOR IN ISTANBUL, 21 MAY 1891. NARA RG84 TURKEY VOL. 109 (1889-94). BOOK COVER ART: Amanda Shingirai Mushate, Inkanyezi, 2020.
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