On 20th June at 17.00 Kenneth J. Knoespel will present a paper “Case Histories in Baltic Networks” on the Faculty of History of HSE St. Petersburg

Kenneth J. Knoespel is McEver Professor of Engineering and the Liberal Arts at Georgia Tech.

He has served as Interim Dean of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts and as Chair of the School of Literature, Communication & Culture. He has a joint-appointment with the School of History Technology & Society and an adjunct appointment in the College of Architecture. 

Case Histories in Baltic Networks

Allow me to frame my exploration of Kronstadt and Karlskrona within the larger setting of the Baltic Sea itself by shifting the focus of attention to the liquid body which creates the barrier between constructed “objects of permanence” -- empires, nations, political and economic regimes, the Baltic Sea.  At the same time as the Baltic has been a barrier, it has also served as a common milieu, a common reservoir, a common resource, and above all a means of transport, exchange, and communication among the actors. One could say that the Baltic Sea has served as natural ‘liquid’ equivalent of the Berlin Wall providing polarization on the one hand and creating common narratives on the other.

Venue: Saint-Petersburg, Promyshlennaya st., 14 A, office 420