The process of industrialization caused a deep transformation of workplace configurations, which is characterized by increasing mechanization and the rationalization of workflow. At the same time the sociality of work fundamentally changed as workers` interactions with their industrial environment were being redefined: formal and informal work practices were constantly adjusted to new technical and organizational innovations of the workplace. This workshop will focus on industrial workplace environment, analyzing its spatial, ecological and technical order. The workshop will explore in what way changes in workplace environment influenced the social control of workers and their bodies.

The process of industrialization caused a deep transformation of workplace configurations, which is characterized by increasing mechanization and the rationalization of workflow. At the same time the sociality of work fundamentally changed as workers` interactions with their industrial environment were being redefined: formal and informal work practices were constantly adjusted to new technical and organizational innovations of the workplace. This workshop will focus on industrial workplace environment, analyzing its spatial, ecological and technical order. The workshop will explore in what way changes in workplace environment influenced the social control of workers and their bodies.

Participants will discuss the formation of a biopolitical dispositive in the industrial workplace, which manifested itself in specific relations of body concepts, institutions, and infrastructures as well as social, medical and economic practices and discourses.

The workshop would also like to give space for methodical and conceptual considerations dealing with new approaches in social and cultural history like gender history, discourse analysis, actor network theory (ANT), history of mentalities and environmental history as well as history of science, medicine and technology. By no means, this listing should not exclude other methodical approaches.

Subject fields:

• control and regulation of the working body and the limits of social discipline
• body perception and body practices of industrial work
• gender relations and gender constructions at the workplace
• industrial hygiene, occupational health and safety at work
• scientification of of industrial work and human resource management
• adaptation of the body to the workplace and vice versa
• media representations of industrial work

  The workshop will consist of approx. 12 papers (each of 20 minutes plus discussion). At the end of the workshop a discussion panel is planned.

The conference owns workshop character, thus the presentation of current research projects and the discussion of open questions is pivotal. We are planning to publish the papers in an edited volume. Accommodation will be provided. In addition participants will receive an honorarium of 100 €.

Please submit abstracts (1 page) with a short CV by 18 October 2010 to the following email address:

lars.bluma@rub.de

Deadline for final discussion drafts (approx. 3-4 pages) which will be distributed to all participants: 30 January 2011.

Conference languages will be German and English