26-10-2021

EuroWeb Digital Conference “From the Household to the Factory”

The EuroWeb Digital Conference “From the Household to the Factory: Modes and Contexts of Textile Production from Prehistory to the Pre-Industrial Period”, which will take place between the 24th and the 26th of November 2021, aims at analysing the impact textile production processes had on European societies through the millennia.

The focus of this conference is to understand how different modes and scales of textile production were articulated across time and space. In fact, and whereas modes and contexts of textile production in specific periods and regions are known or under study in their respective research fields, comparisons across time and space are still lacking, and this meeting aims to begin bridging this gap.

In more detail, the conference will focus on several aspects: how the different phases of textile production were articulated, how modes of production change through time, what was the real impact of technical and technological innovation in past societies, how the type of product (luxury, for mass consumption) relates to the mode of production, how textile production was regulated, how the export market influenced the organisation of textile production, and if there are suitable theoretical frameworks to compare our research on different periods and areas.

EuroWeb offers the platform to undertake such a time-transcending study of textile production. The conference, focussing on pre-industrial European fabric production, invites EuroWeb members and other researchers to contribute to the discussion of continuities, parallels and changes in textile production. The production process will be considered as a whole, from the selection of plant fibres and their farming or sheep races for wool, until the dyeing process, the making of the fabric and respective finishing processes.

The 24 papers which will be presented in this conference will consider the forms of organisation of production – household production, workshops, putting-out systems and factories are a few well-known keywords on the discussions that come to mind. Case studies will be presented illustrating different modes of productions,  considering their context and impact on the respective societies.

From the Household to the Factory – Program and Book of Abstracts

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