The workshop will examine the careers of early nineteenth-century linguists with the aim of learning what made, and probably still makes, an exceptional scholar.
Jyrki Pöysä (University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland) will examine the newly published 5563-page diary of Anders Johan Sögren and several versions of his autobiographies, while Leonid S. Chekin (Independent scholar and translator, Springfield, Virginia) will compile stories about Julius von Klaproth from the memoirs of the St. Petersburg academic elite of the time.
Sjögren had a difficult start and a brilliant career, but never stopped thinking of himself as a failure, while Klaproth was born into academic privilege, was a linguistic genius, but his reckless behavior toward his colleagues irreversibly tarnished his reputation.
The workshop is open to discussion of other cases of standard or unusual academic careers in the nineteenth century.
The abstracts should be sent to Leonid S. Chekin and Jyrki Pöysä before 15 May, 2024:
ICHoLS 