TOTALITARIANISM - HISTORIOGRAPHY, POLITICS AND CULTURE OF REMEMBRANCE IN CENTRAL AND SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

Goran Miljan Announcement
Location
Croatia
Subject Fields
Eastern Europe History / Studies, European History / Studies, Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies, Modern European History / Studies, Research and Methodology

It is practically impossible to imagine researching the numerous socio-political conjunctures in the societies of Central and Southeastern Europe, their cultures, historical heritage and politics in the 20th century without scientific study of that which is often called totalitarianism. While the concept of totalitarianism was declared dead several times during the Cold War and afterwards, it nonetheless remains present in numerous theoretical and conceptual reflections on societies and their development. There is no doubt that some of the states and societies in Central and Southeastern Europe were shaped during a historical period when totalitarian idea of fascism and communism dominated the political agenda. While the communist or socialist totalitarian experiment lasted almost half a century and left a significant socio-political legacy in societies, the fascist one was much shorter, but nonetheless has effect on state and nation building processes and its legacy remains present to this day.

No totalitarian movement or regime managed to achieve its goals. When attempting to analyze and understand the totalitarian experiment of the 20th century, it is necessary to keep in mind that, on the one hand, the totalitarian experiment represents a utopian idea of creating something new, better, more durable, and on the other hand the belief of a ‘charismatic aristocracy’ in its ideological infallibility and its unquestionable right to lead societies through the process of transformation. The goal of the conference is to use a comparative and transnational approach in order to explore the similarities and differences between two ideas, their national specificities and transnational influences, their everyday practice, their conjunctures of development and activity, and the influence of their legacy on the contemporary societies of Central and Southeastern Europe.

Possible presentation topics:

  • dealing with the past
  • the relationship between government and individual
  • the idea of state and society
  • political and social exclusivity and inclusivity
  • the role of violence
  • gender, sex, and the family
  • economic models
  • youth organizations
  • everyday life
  • emigration and immigration
  • press and propaganda
  • contemporary politics and totalitarianism

The official conference languages are Croatian and English. If you are interested in participating, please send a brief summary of your presentation (max. 300 words in word document) as well as a short biography and list of their most important published works. Presentations should be no longer than 15 minutes.

The application deadline is April 15, 2016.

Please send your applications to the following e-mail: goran.miljan@gmail.com.

In addition to the panels we will also organize a Young Scholars Forum, in which early career researchers, PhD students, will be able to present their on-going projects and research.

The peer-reviewed journal Europske studije - European Studies - http://www.jmonnetchair.com/eu has expressed interest in considering submitted presentations for publication.

For further inquiries please contact:

Tamara Ljubičić, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Dean's Office, Department for International Cooperation and Public Relations, tel: +385 21 329 290, e-mail: ljubicic@ffst.hr

Confirmed participants:

Dr. Tomislav Dulić (The Hugo Valentin Centre, Uppsala University)

Dr. Burkhard Olschowsky (Bundesinstitut für Kultur und Geschichte der Deutschen im östlichen Europa) 

Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Dieter Pohl (Abteilungsleiter Zeitgeschichte und Geschichte Ost- und Südosteuropas Stellvertretender Institutsvorstand Alpen-Adria Universität, Klagenfurt)

Professor Dr. Constantin Iordachi (Central European University, Budapest)

Professor Dr. Aleksandar Jakir (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Split)

Professor Dr. Anđelko Milardović (Institut za migracije i narodnosti/Institut za europske i globalizacijske studije, Zagreb)

Contact Email
goran.miljan@gmail.com