[CfP Reminder] The War That Never Ended: Postwar Continuity and New Challenges in the Aftermath of the Habsburg and Ottoman Empires, 1918–1923

Kamil Ruszala Announcement
Location
Poland
Subject Fields
Eastern Europe History / Studies, European History / Studies, Humanities, Modern European History / Studies, Social History / Studies

The War That Never Ended: Postwar Continuity and New Challenges in the Aftermath of the Habsburg and Ottoman Empires, 1918–1923

An International Conference and Research Workshop

Organizer: Institute of History, Jagiellonian University; Pratt Institute

Venue: Poland, Kraków, Institute of History, Jagiellonian University

Date: October 24–26, 2019 (Thursday–Saturday)

Application deadline: June 1, 2019

Form of abstracts: electronic file (doc, docx, rtf, pdf), 300 words max in English

Applications to be sent to: krakowpostWWI@pratt.edu

Workshop fee: 250 PLN

www: https://postwarconference.wordpress.com/

Call for Papers

In 1914, imploding European powers committed murder and mayhem on an unforeseen scale around the world with enormous and irreversible global consequences. This bloody, sometimes even fratricidal, struggle wrought unprecedented destruction and death; by the time this disaster was "over," a new world emerged beyond the imaginations of the perpetrators, participants and witnesses of this era. Post-armistice humanity around the globe was changed and was left heavily scarred, anxious, and full of economic, political, and cultural uncertainty. Many reflected about the recent catastrophe and sought to engage entire societies in the formation of a new order. This re-building and re-imagining could be seen from the local to the national to international levels and included the process of constructing a lasting memory of 1914–1918 and of creating narratives about the conflict. Undoubtedly, the years of the Great War are an important caesura in the historiography of the new world.

The centuries-old empires of Europe collapsed following the 1918 truce, but the agile colonial powers insisted on clinging to their overseas territories and their colonial clashes continued.

For some historians there were not two world wars, but a twenty-year-long intermission that festered with uncertainties and anxieties. What is more, despite the fact that the Great War was over in the West, warfare continued for months and even years in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe, including the territories of the former Ottoman Empire.

The War That Never Ended Conference invites papers engaging with the multilayered complexities, lasting and prolonged global contributions of this period, including the cultural, political, and social history of the immediate and prolonged aftermath of the First World War, its revolutions and birth of nations and states. We invite:

- a particular focus on the responses of the politicians, intellectuals, artists, as well as ordinary citizens with the expectation that social history profoundly informs political and economic history;

- papers focusing on and revealing the ensuing violence, mayhem and destruction in the aftermath of the war;

- papers considering the creation of new cultural and political trends in the hothouse of the period;

- consideration of whether the term "Lost Generation" coined by Ernest Hemingway can be used in reference to East-Central Europe and the Ottoman Empire.

- papers on post-imperial settlements, adjustments and consolidations within the geographies of the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires to further our comparative understanding of post-imperial national projects and practices. Comparisons may consider areas and issues such the rule of law, the role of religion, minorities, (de)democratization, governance, as well as cultural, economic and political clashes in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

- explorations of the post-Great War formation of new states and their relationships with cultural diversity, de/colonization, democracy, and how they all interfaced with the impending clashes of World War II.

Together, these inquiries can enhance our understanding of contemporary brutal conflicts such as the refugee crisis, the obstacles for democratization and the impending rise of authoritarianism in post-Empire geographies. While illuminating the post-Great War period, we hope The War That Never Ended Conference will also contribute to our understanding of the present.

 

Accompanying events

The conference will be accompanied by keynote lectures delivered by experienced scholars in this field, as well as a source-studies seminar in the Kraków Archives and Museums.

As a part of our workshop, we are planning to prepare a special tour to WWI battlefields in order to visit selected military cemeteries created to commemorate the fallen soldiers in Galicia, and to see some of the splendid examples of war monuments designed by the famous artists. The excursion will only take place in favorable weather conditions. As an alternative, we are planning a visit to Kraków's museums.

 

Procedure

Abstracts, no longer than 300 words (including title, research questions, a brief description of sources and methods), as well as contact details, name and institutional affiliation, should be sent to: krakowpostWWI@pratt.edu. The deadline for abstract submission is 1st June 2019. The complete lineup of speakers will be announced by the end of June 2019.

 

Conference fee

The conference fee is 250 PLN (=€60/$65), which includes: participation, conference materials, participation in the planned excursion, refreshments, lunches and dinners. Please note that neither the costs of travels to and from Kraków nor of accommodation are covered by the organizers (however, we will be happy to assist you in looking for a hotel near the conference venue).

 

Organizing Committee

Tomasz Pudłocki, Jagiellonian University (tomaszpudlocki@hoga.pl)

Kamil Ruszała, Jagiellonian University (kamil.ruszala@uj.edu.pl)

Kumru Toktamis, Pratt Institute (ktoktami@pratt.edu)

Contact Information

Organiser: Institute of History, Jagiellonian University; Pratt Institute

Tomasz Pudłocki, Jagiellonian University (tomaszpudlocki@hoga.pl)

Kamil Ruszała, Jagiellonian University (kamil.ruszala@uj.edu.pl)

Kumru Toktamis, Pratt Institute (ktoktami@pratt.edu)

Applications to be sent to: krakowpostWWI@pratt.edu

 

Contact Email
kamil.ruszala@uj.edu.pl