Lost Knowledge and Migration
Jun 24, 2025 | 5pm ET
Online Panel Discussion | Speakers: Eliyana R. Adler (Binghamton University), Susanne Korbel (University of Graz), Angelika Laumer (University of Bonn) and Matteo Sartori (Universidad de Concepción); Moderators: Philipp Strobl (University of Vienna) and Swen Steinberg (GHI Washington / Queen's University)
The German Historical Institute Washington is pleased to invite you to the presentation of a new publication that offers a critical reexamination of the dynamics of knowledge in the context of migration. Philipp Strobl and Swen Steinberg have organized an International Standing Working Group and edited a special issue of the Journal of Migration History (Brill), entitled “Lost Knowledge and Migration.”
Drawing on interdisciplinary approaches from migration history and the history of knowledge, this volume challenges conventional narratives that focus primarily on the adaptation and integration of knowledge in host societies. The contributions in this collection foreground the spatial and temporal dimensions of migrating knowledge, emphasizing its rootedness in local and regional contexts. While existing scholarship has largely centered on the translation, negotiation, or neglection of migrant knowledge in places of arrival, this volume shifts the analytical focus to the often-overlooked places of origin. What are the epistemic consequences of the departure of knowledge agents? How does the loss of local expertise shape the trajectories of these regions? And what forms of 'lost knowledge' emerge as a result?
By investigating the repercussions of outward knowledge migration, this volume introduces ‘lost knowledge’ as a novel and compelling field within historical migration studies. It not only raises critical questions about absence, substitution, and epistemic resilience but also invites reflection on the global implications of knowledge flows past and present.
Please join us for an evening of discussion and insight into this timely and thought-provoking contribution to the historiography of migration and knowledge.