Session at the Tensions of Europe conference

The Tensions of Europe network organizes a conference every two years to discuss research on the history of technology. At the 2024 event, held in Frankfurt/Oder from 19-21 September, Tim Moss co-organized a double sessionabout usable histories of technology together with Evelien de Hoop (Free University of Amsterdam), Erik van der Vleuten (Technical University of Eindhoven) and Heike Weber (Technical University of Berlin). The first session comprised three presentations that drew lessons from past transformations (Janina Priebe), challenged assumptions about the transformative capacity of innovations (Heike Weber) and explored knowledge transfer over time (Sjamme van de Voort). The second session was more interactive, exploring methods of mobilizing, co-producing and communicating histories of transformative value in group work, with the help of two introductory inputs (Tim Moss and Karena Kalmbach).

What kind of lessons emerged from the event? Historians have a key role to play in correcting misleading narratives about the…