Location:  JSAH Annual Meeting / Savannah, April 29, 2006

The meeting was introduced by Christine Mengin, Rob Dettingmeijer, and Bernd Kulawik.

Mengin reviewed the origins of the EAHN.  She explained that the concept of a European equivalent of the SAH originated during the SAH meeting in  Providence in 2004, as several European colleagues realized that they encountered each other only at SAH meetings in America, and that such an organization in Europe is missing.  A first highly productive organizational meeting of EAHN was held in Vancouver in 2005.  The second was a forum in Paris in September, 2005.  This meeting was more complex, as certain European colleagues resisted the use of the SAH as a model for a European organization.  It was decided to create a temporary association in order to collect ideas and feel out the right formula.  At the same time, however, there was a need for a legal framework for the association.  Therefore a temporary association was created which has a bank account and which has started a mailing list and created a web site.  A first business meeting was held in Berlin in mid-January 2006, with an entire day devoted to a variety of topics. All the documents related to these meetings are available on the web site.

Mengin reviewed the goal of the new association, which is to create a forum for European scholars and for others who work on European architecture.  At present those concerned with the history of architecture find themselves splintered between schools of architecture, departments of art history, and preservation institutes, and are divided between 25 countries.  The aim of the organization would be to strengthen ties between scholars in these different types of institutions and create a structure that circulates information and knowledge about what colleagues are doing.  The fundamental concept is that of a European and not a national organization, although of course there would be strong links with groups such as the SAHGB.

A series of issues were raised:

1. the creation of a mailing list: at present there are about 160 members, many of whom joined as a result of the Paris meeting.  Those wishing to register can send an e-mail to eahn.office@gmail.com or log onto the web site.
2. The working language of the association is English, but attachments and conferences can be in any language.  Meeting summaries and other documents should be in English.
3. Bernd Kulawik described the web site, intended as a source of information, discussion and documentation.  The site has been designed as flexibly as possible in order to facilitate the exchange of information.  One of the ideas is to provide lists of institutions that can be contacted in certain cities to aid members in research.  The web would also include member information; a news folder that covers on-going projects, and a publications folder with lists of recent publications, as well as events and tours.  One of main principles in the design of the site was ease of use.  Kulawik emphasixed the need for a European data-base, lists of Ph.D candidates and their topics; what is currently in preparation in the field, information on job markets, lists of periodicals, and possibly the eventual creation of a data base of members’ research topics.
4. It was noted that SAHGB has organized a research database, and that we should have a closer look at it and consider the  possibility of collaborating with it.
5. The EAHN is at present a temporary organization officially declared with the French Republic.  It is hoped that there might be an assembly in Zurich in 2007 in which the organizing committee would work on by-laws and a mission statement.
6. There is some question about the best legal system for a European association.
7. The issue was raised as to whether there is need of a newsletter, an issue also discussed in Berlin.  Does it make sense to have a newsletter complimentary to the web-site?  Is there the need for a summary of what is going on?  One of the difficulties in producing a newsletter is that there are no native English speakers among the founding members.
8. Another issue was raised about the relationship to other institutions.  It would be useful to have correspondents in other institutions, but this would require a great deal of organization and coordination.
9. It was noted that the EAHN needs to be an independent association (not attached to SAH) to get receive European funding.  To achieve this goal the organization will need to be organized and visible.  The difficulties are that dealing with the Union requires a great deal of administrative effort.
10. Should the EAHN hold conferences?  The SAH meetings are seen as a model of efficiency in providing “a photograph” of research in the field.  But it is clear that the organization of meetings requires a great deal of effort and institutional structure.  It may be more feasible to hold regional conferences.
11. Another suggestion is to inventory the periodicals in our field.

Tours

Carmen Popescu described the issue of EAHN tours.  This is the first tangible project put forward by the EAHN, and is an attempt to visit historically important sites and develop contact with local scholars.  The association will consider a series of tours to sites in Europe in the company of local specialists as an opportunity to develop and expand the scholarly network. 
The tours are designed as short trips (3 days) within Europe.  They need to be planned in relation to keeping costs low and providing a range of options so that each individual can decide on the level of expense and comfort, but the entire group will benefit from the same guides, who must be local.  One of the primary goals is the opportunity to meet local scholars, and it is therefore desirable to use several local guides and involve local scholars.  The upcoming tour is designed along these principles in Ljubljana 7-9 July in Slovenia.  It will also be important to cover a range of historical periods so that scholars in various fields will be satisfied.  The decision to organize the trip to Slovenia was based on the length of the tour: what cities and what sites can be visited over a short-term period?  Registration forms for this tour are not yet ready but will be available soon, and members will also be asked to make a contribution to funding the project. 
The tours are in an experimental phase.  The association will need to test out whether the format of 3 days will be satisfying.  The deadline for registration for the Ljubljana tour for this year will be around June 10.  Proposals for future tours are welcome.  Tours will be in English. 

Publication.  The issue of publication was raised, as in Europe there are very few periodicals devoted to architectural history.   The association is not yet at a stage in which it can proceed in this direction.  Nancy Stieber (former editor of the JSAH) noted that the first issue of JSAH was on mimeographed sheets.  Now that there is internet, however, the issues have changed, and there are no longer the same kinds of expenses.  The issue of a journal will continue to be discussed as the organization evolves. 

Discussion

It was noted that there will be a CD of  the SAH-INHA meeting.  The organizers emphasized their openness to experimentation, and that further meetings, and the experience of the upcoming tour will be helpful.  There is potential interest in creating a “bottom up” presentation of material, perhaps using graduate students or post-doctoral colleagues to assist in translating and disseminating materials from the Ljubljana tour.

The issue was raised as to whether the EAHN should appoint national representatives who would form the beginning of the network.   It was generally agreed that above all the association needs to be formed of individuals who are talented networkers.  It does not seem appropriate to form a committee with one representative per country, bur rather to encourage people willing to get involved and help establish a new network.  It was felt that the issue of national correspondents is perhaps not appropriate or desirable at this stage of the organization, and Dettingmeijer suggested that a looser structure might enhance communication. 

It was suggested that a “link” on funding opportunities might be added to the website, for example lists of local organizations that might subsidize or support research.  Such a site should include the email addresses of the relevant associations. 

It was noted that in some European cities, and especially in Berlin, large foundations have often settled into new headquarters in historic buildings, and have thus come to take an interest in the history and preservation of their buildings.  These foundations are now for the first time needing to engage with the built environments, and the question was raised whether they might be willing to host regional conferences and support research.

The question was raised as to whether discussions on the website were to be moderated.  There is an issue of how much time this would take; at present, at least, it would be impossible to moderate the site, as information can be added at any time.  The site has been designed in relation to the concept of freedom of expression.  If necessary and in time, vandals could be blocked by certain systems, but at the present time the decision is to keep the site completely open.  One example that might be of interest for the site would be a review of the Savannah meeting. 

At the present time, any individual who subscribes to the mailing list becomes a member of the association. There is no need at present for dues or fees, though there will some sort of charge for the Ljubljana tour.

Meetings

The organizing committee reviewed the decision to hold one business meeting a year in January.  One of the issues to be resolved is the cost of travel for colleagues in Eastern Europe, as salaries are very low.  It is felt that it is vital to include these colleagues, perhaps by holding meetings in their part of Europe.  This is why the first business meeting was held in the heart of Europe: Berlin. The 2007 business meeting will take place on January 12-14  2007, in Delft. It will be hosted by the School of Architecture, thanks to our colleague Jan Molema, member of the organizing committee.

Dietrich Neumann, EAHN Committee member and first vice-president of SAH, gave an up-date on the ETH-SAH Zurich meeting in 2007.  There will be a planning meeting in  early June 06, which will shortly be announced on the website.  It is thought that the organization might sponsor a meeting on the 19th-20th centuries and the roots of modern architecture in the US and Europe.   This would be an attempt to provide a thematic direction for EAHN meetings, with an expected attendance of perhaps 100-200 participants.

The organizers stated that they would welcome proposals for study tours.  One of the issues for the organization is that not all of the starting committee can always be present at each meeting; the concept must therefore be to maintain detailed minutes of each meeting. 

The question was raised whether the organization has thought to make contact with the relevant groups in Australia and New Zealand, the SAHANZ? 

There was also some discussion of issues of control of web site; does it need to be maintained once a month or once a day?  How can the organization be sure that the site is not polluted?  At the present state of the organization, this is not an issue; but in the long run there may  need to be a group of members who are manage the website.  

It was noted that the first intervention on site is in French, which is not the policy of the site.  There is obviously resistance to the issue of English as the main language of the organization.  It was noted that there are certain “natural” languages in the field of architectural history: English, French, Italian, German, and Dutch, but for the present the agreement has been made to conduct business in English.

The issue of the relationship of the EAHN to other scholarly associations and list-serves was raised.  The association is not yet at the stage of operating on this level; at this point, the founding members feel that discussion, sharing thoughts and ideas are the most vital element, as well as creating the sense of community among architectural historians.  It is hoped that scholars will find it exciting to become involved in the founding of a new organization.

Thus the goal of inexpensive tours is very important: events open to students and faculty.  It was emphasized that the tours should be run as simply as possible, as these are the environment for the best dialogues and the most intellectually enriching.  It is felt that the tours will attract people to the association, above all because of the idea of establishing local contacts and the opportunity to visit unexpected sites.  It was noted that there would be no differentiation between historians, preservationists, and scholars from other fields. 

The organizers encouraged those present to be in contact and to place their email addresses on the web-site.


Meeting adjourned. 

                        Respectfully submitted, Caroline Bruzelius
                                        volunteer