An international conference taking place at the University of Oldenburg from 20 to 22 September will focus on rural middle-class elites in Europe between the 17th and 19th centuries.
Research has so far almost completely ignored the question of the interdependence of rural regions with European markets. The conference aims to close this gap. It will focus on the diverse regional characteristics of rural middle-class elites, the variety of political and legal frameworks as well as their social and cultural forms of expression. In doing so, the researchers focus on the increasing involvement of many large farmers in cross-border trade activities since the 17th century. "Only the interplay between local and global culture can explain the emergence of the peasant-bourgeois elites and thus social change," explains historian and conference chair Prof Dr Dagmar Freist. The aim of the conference is to trace the self-image of the upper classes in a European comparison by linking questions of economic, social and cultural history and to work out their potential for innovation.
The conference is part of the VW Foundation-funded research project " 'Beyond the Horizon...' Rural-bourgeois elites in the Frisian marshes and neighbouring Geest areas", in which the University, the Museumsdorf Cloppenburg, the Jever Castle Museum and the Lower Saxony State Archives are involved. The event is organised by the Institute of History, Department of Early Modern History. The speakers come from museums, archives and universities in Germany, France, Austria, Great Britain and the Netherlands.