As places which fostered and disseminated key social, economic, political and cultural developments, historically towns have been central to the creation of gendered identities and the transmission of ideas across local, national and transnational boundaries. This Conference draws upon the extensive conversations engendered within the Gender in the European Network, opening these conversations to international scholars working in this field. Participants will explore not only the changing dynamics of gender and towns over time, but also about the challenges posed in writing a comparative European history that extends beyond the Anglo-Franco-German axis to incorporate explicitly the Nordic and Southern regions, thus raising questions both about the complexities of pan-European gendered ideals, and about the nature of the European town itself. The keynote speakers are renown historians in the field who will not only share their reflections on the themes but will also help to stimulate conversations throughout the conference.

Keynote speakers:
Elizabeth Cohen, York University, Toronto, Canada: ‘Women in a "Male City": From Sex Ratios to Social Relations in Rome circa 1600.’

Rachel Fuchs, Arizona State University, USA: ‘Exploring Citizenship in Creative Ways: Gender, the Family and the Courts in Modern Paris.’

Hannu Salmi, University of Turku, Finland: ‘Catastrophe, Emotions and Guilt: The Great Fire of Turku 1827.’

Pamela Sharpe, Hobart University, Tasmania, Australia: ‘Gender in Place: Early Modern Economic and Social Perspectives.’

Deborah Simonton, University of Southern Denmark: ‘”to merit the countenance of the Magistrates”: Gender and civic identity in eighteenth-century Aberdeen.’