Newsletter 2/2026
International Egodocumental Network
(Egodocumental Research Group)
Newsletter 2/2026
Dear colleagues, we are pleased to present the second newsletter of 2026, which contains the latest developments in research and academic life in the field of egodocuments.
Network News
International Egodocumental Network Seminar 1/2026 (5)
The first on-line seminar of the International Egodocumental Network in 2026 will take place on 16 June at 17.00 (Warsaw Time). The lecture “Egodocuments in Legal History Research: Possibilities or Threats?” will be presented by Prof. Mia Korpiola from the University of Turku. We warmly invite you to join the meeting. If you are interested, please contact us via email: egodocuments@umk.pl.
Abstract: Egodocuments have hitherto been underused sources in legal history research. The presentation asks why this is so, and why some researchers view egodocuments – autobiographical texts, memoirs, diaries and private letters – with scepticism. The presentation argues that this is to some extent a caused by a tendency to perceive the focus of legal history to be norms and texts that are supposedly neutral, and often written by officials.
Lawyers are trained how to approach and analyse legal sources, while egodocuments can seem scary and unscientific. Focusing on practices, experiences and “lived law” may seem irrelevant for understanding the “history of law” (as different from legal history more broadly), whereas egodocuments may give the impression of being too subjective and flimsy in comparison to lawbooks, court decisions and stacks of legal commentaries.
Then, the presentation will look at how legal historians have used egodocuments so far. Finally, the potential of egodocuments is discussed through some examples as a means of enriching our knowledge of the nexus of people and the law in the past.
Prof. Mia Korpiola is a professor of Legal History at the University of Turku in Finland. In 2024, she hosted a workshop dedicated to egodocuments in Legal history. Her research focuses mainly on the legal history of Sweden and Finland in a comparative perspective. She has written especially on family law, criminal law and the legal profession since the Middle Ages, as well as legal takes on historical notions of privacy.
2nd International Network Conference
We are glad to inform you that we have begun preparations for the next International Network Conference, which will take place in April/May 2027 at Sorbonne University in Paris. We want to thank Prof. François-Joseph Ruggiu for taking the organisational effort. More information is to follow in due time.
New Egodocumental Journal
We are happy to announce that Rocznik Egodokumentalny. Journal of Egodocuments and Self-Narratives was launched at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. The Editor-in-Chief is Dr Hab. Hadrian Ciechanowski (NCU) and Deputy Editor-in-Chief is Dr Izabela Olszewska, (University of Gdańsk). We warmly invite you to submit your articles to the journal. We accept articles in Polish, English, and German. The journal will be published on-line and in early access. The first full issue will be released by the end of 2026. Information about the journal can be found here: https://apcz.umk.pl/RE/index.
Scope and Aims of the Journal
The Rocznik Egodokumentalny. Journal of Egodocuments and Self-Narratives is a peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to interdisciplinary research on personal documents, autobiographies, and individual narratives, as well as narrative forms based on the use of these sources. The articles published in the journal address the phenomenon of egodocuments within a broad methodological, cultural, and historical framework.
The Rocznik Egodokumentalny is intended for researchers from all academic disciplines, including in particular history, linguistics, literary studies, cultural studies, anthropology, sociology, and communication studies.
The journal publishes research articles, critical source analyses, studies on egodocuments and related research approaches, as well as reviews and discussions of current developments and scholarly achievements in the field.
Other News
The Competition For Memoirs Of Researchers With Migration Experience
The BRAINY team at the Lodz University invites you to participate in a competition for scientists’ diaries. Information about BRAINY can be found on their website: https://diasporaintelektualna.pl/en/about/.
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Konkurs na pamiętniki migrantów akademickich Prowadzisz badania naukowe lub zajęcia dydaktyczne w Polsce albo za granicą? Masz doświadczenie czasowego pobytu na zagranicznej uczelni i refleksje, którymi chcesz się podzielić? Zapraszamy Cię do przesłania swojego pamiętnika! Udział w Konkursie mogą wziąć osoby, które: • urodziły się i odebrały część wykształcenia w Polsce (na poziomie średnim lub wyższym), • posiadają przynajmniej stopień naukowy doktora (uzyskany w Polsce albo za granicą), • spędziły za granicą minimum 12 miesięcy (może to być suma kilku pobytów) pracując badawczo i/lub dydaktycznie, a wyjechały w latach 1990-2025, • część tego okresu przebywały w Wielkiej Brytanii, Stanach Zjednoczonych, Kanadzie lub Australii. Zadanie konkursowe polega na napisaniu wspomnień/pamiętnika - w języku polskim albo angielskim - i przesłaniu go na adresy mailowe: kontakt@diasporaintelektualna.pl oraz monika.jania.szczechowiak@uni.lodz.pl do 31.10.2026 r. Organizator nie wyznacza ani minimalnej ani maksymalnej objętości pracy, ale rekomenduje spisanie wspomnień na przynajmniej 20 stronach. Mile widziane są zdjęcia, szkice, rysunki i inne dodatkowe materiały. Najlepsze pamiętniki zostaną nagrodzone: • I nagroda: 7 000 zł, • II nagroda: 5 000 zł, • III nagroda: 3 000 zł, • wyróżnienie: 1 500 zł (do 6 wyróżnień). Podziel się swoją historią! Pełną informację można znaleźć tutaj: https://diasporaintelektualna.pl/ogloszenia/
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The Competition For Memoirs of Researchers with Migration Experience Are you conducting scientific research or teaching in Poland or abroad? The Competition is open to individuals who: · were born in Poland and received part of their education there (at secondary or higher-education level), · hold at least a doctoral degree (awarded either in Poland or abroad), · have spent a minimum of 12 months abroad (which may include several separate stays) engaged in research and/or teaching activities, having departed between 1990 and 2025, · spent part of this period in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, or Australia. The competition task consists of writing a memoir/diary — in either Polish or English — and submitting it by email to: kontakt@diasporaintelektualna.pl and monika.jania.szczechowiak@uni.lodz.pl by 31st October 2026. The organisers do not specify either a minimum or maximum length for submissions; however, they recommend that memoirs comprise at least 20 pages. Photographs, sketches, drawings, and other supplementary materials are warmly welcomed. The best memoirs will receive the following awards: · First Prize: PLN 7,000 · Second Prize: PLN 5,000 · Third Prize: PLN 3,000 · Honourable Mention: PLN 1,500 (up to six distinctions) Share your story! Full details can be found here: https://diasporaintelektualna.pl/en/announcements/
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Centre for Self-Narratives of the University of Lodz Inaugural Lecture
The Centre for Self-Narratives at the University of Lodz (www.uni.lodz.pl/cfsn) has had its inaugural lecture “Egodocuments in Historical Perspective” on 30 March 2026, delivered by its director, prof. Michaël Green.
Abstract: Over the past decades, the study of egodocuments has developed into a significant and dynamic area of research. Diaries, correspondence, memoirs, travel accounts, almanacs, and autobiographical notes were once regarded as marginal sources, often considered too subjective or too fragmentary to sustain broader historical interpretation. Today, they are increasingly recognised as indispensable for understanding how individuals experienced and interpreted their world. The term “egodocument” was introduced as a methodological category rather than a historical one. At the same time, related concepts such as life writing, écrits du for privé, or egodocumentality emerged within different scholarly traditions. These parallel approaches reflect distinct disciplinary perspectives and research cultures. They also raise important questions. What defines an egodocument? Is it the presence of the first person, the intention of self-representation, or the function of the text within a given social context? How should we approach sources that move between personal reflection and public communication?
This lecture reflects on the conceptual development of egodocument research and argues for a consciously interdisciplinary framework. Drawing on examples from social, cultural history, and religious history across Western, Central, and Northern Europe, I will explore how personal writings allow scholars to access lived experience, self-fashioning, and the organisation of social and spatial relations. In doing so, I will also address how such sources contribute to current discussions on privacy. Furthermore, I will also explore the digitalisation potential of egodocuments as well as the aim to create a database of Polish egodocuments.
The Centre for Self-Narratives is founded on the conviction that personal writings are central to understanding the past. By fostering collaboration across disciplines and methodological traditions, it seeks to consolidate and further develop the study of egodocuments as a field of research. The Centre for Self-Narratives Lecture Series is intended to provide perspectives from various historical and related disciplines on the analysis and interpretation of egodocuments, thereby encouraging dialogue across established academic boundaries.
The lecture can be watched online here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWun3cZOUI
Book-Launch (Online): Privacy in Early Modern Egodocuments: Personal Lives in Historical Perspective
The book was edited by Michaël Green, Joanna Orzeł, and Anna Kowalcze-Pawlik, for the Brill series Studies in the History of Privacy of which it was the first volume.
The book-launch took place on 21 April 2026, and was hosted by Dr Oskar Rojewski and Prof. Michaël Green, with participation of Dr Leonieke Vermeer, Prof. Arvydas Pacevicius, Dr András Bándi, Dr Joanna Orzeł, Dr Anna-Kowalcze-Pawlik, as well as of Helena Schöb and Melissa Allieri (Brill)
In early modern Europe, literacy was on the rise, and it became possible to reflect on one’s own life and secrets in private notes, letters to family and friends, as well as diaries, memoirs, and travelogues. Privacy in Early Modern Egodocuments: Personal Lives in Historical Perspective combines historical research with an analysis of personal narratives from Eastern, Central, and Western Europe (also in the global context) to discuss what privacy meant at a time of political and social turmoil. The contributions explore personal writings by elite figures, as well as non-elite groups and marginalised voices, in a detective-like fashion, bringing into focus narratives that have long been overlooked in traditional historical studies. The authors offer insights into the evolution of the concept of privacy as well as the use of egodocuments as a vital resource for understanding individual and collective memory, particularly as shaped by the region's dynamic history.
Contributors are: András Bándi, Jakub Basista, Michael Green, Nere Jone Intxaustegi Jauregi, Anna Kowalcze-Pawlik, Katarzyna Kuras, Bernadetta Manyś, Joanna Orzeł, François-Joseph Ruggiu, Robert T. Tomczak, Nataliia Voloshkova, and Aleksandra Ziober.
Michael Green, Joanna Orzeł, Anna Kowalcze-Pawlik (eds.), Privacy in Early Modern Egodocuments: Personal Lives in Historical Perspective, series Studies in the History of Privacy, Leiden: Brill, 2026. https://brill.com/display/title/69877
The book-launch can be watched online here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJMLaE11lhU
New Publications
- Timothée Muller, Une jeune aristocrate lorraine face à la guerre de 1870. Le journal de Renée de Riocour (1870-1871), Presses Universitaires de Strasbourg, 2026. Details of the book can be found here: https://pus.unistra.fr/ouvrage/une-jeune-aristocrate-lorraine-face-a-la-guerre-de-1870/.
- Michael Green, Joanna Orzeł, Anna Kowalcze-Pawlik (eds.), Privacy in Early Modern Egodocuments: Personal Lives in Historical Perspective, series Studies in the History of Privacy, Leiden: Brill, 2026. https://brill.com/display/title/69877
Conferences
- Gergely Toth invites you to join the interdisciplinary unconference “Rethinking Europe–Japan Relations, 1868–1913” in Hungary on 19–20 September 2026 to collaboratively explore new perspectives on Europe–Japan relations through dialogue, research exchange, and innovative ideas. Egodocument research is especially welcome! Read the detailed CFP here: https://ejbr.hcommons.org/
- Laura Prins invites you to join the SALON Conference 2026, titled “Unreliable Lives: Rethinking the Artist’s Biography in the Nineteenth Century”. The conference will be held at the Museum Singer Laren, The Netherlands, on 12th June 2026. Registration link: https://www.salonsociety.art/news/conference-2026-registration
Egodocuments on YouTube
Michaël Green invites you to subscribe to his YouTube channel @HistoriansinConversation-tw1xf, dedicated to his podcast Historians in Conversation. The podcast focuses on historians and their academic careers and currently contains 31 episodes. It also contains the recordings of previous International Egodocumental Networks seminars and lectures.
https://www.youtube.com/@HistoriansinConversation-tw1xf
International Egodocumental Network (IEN) News
- We encourage you to share information about the Network with your colleagues who may be interested in our work.
- We remind you of three publication avenues for egodocumental research: the Brill series Egodocuments and History and Studies in the History of Privacy (which also allows smaller publications in the form of minigraphs of 30-60,000 words), as well as the newest egodocumental journal Rocznik Egodokumentalny. Journal of Egodocuments and Self-Narratives.
Information about network members
A gentle reminder to those who wish to publish their research profile on the Network’s website (https://egodocuments.umk.pl/) to facilitate communication and interconnection: please complete the attached form and return it to us. The template includes the following information: last and first name, academic title and position, affiliation, period of interest, keywords, remarks, and email address. It also comprises the GDPR statement, which must be completed to publish the information on-line. If you are interested in publishing your profile on our website, please send us a scanned, signed copy of the template to the email address egodocuments@umk.pl.
As always, we look forward to your information about publications, grants, conferences, workshops, searches for collaborators, or other information or requests you would like to share with the network members. Please send us a description (in English) and materials to egodocuments@umk.pl. We will be pleased to share them with the Network.
Best wishes,
Dr hab. Hadrian Ciechanowski (Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń)
Dr hab. Michaël Green, prof. UŁ (University of Lodz)
Egodocumental Research Group
International Egodocumental Network
https://egodocuments.umk.pl/