[H-verkko] CFP: International Conference: Crisis and Mobilization since 1789

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Agricolan Artikkelipyyntötietokantaan
( http://agricola.utu.fi/nyt/pyynnot/ )
on tullut seuraava ilmoitus:

International Conference: Crisis and Mobilization since 1789

Call for Papers
International Conference “Crisis and Mobilization since 1789”
International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam, February 22-24,
2013

organized by the
International Scholars’ Network “History of Societies and Socialisms”
(HOSAS)/H-Socialisms

Organizers of the 2nd HOSAS conference, to be held in Amsterdam in
February of 2013, welcome proposals from all fields of the social
sciences and humanities from around the world that consider socialism
and its relation to the conference theme –Crisis and Mobilization
since 1789.

The political Left—mainstream socialists above all, but also
anarchists, communists, feminists, and others—has played a central
role throughout modern history in giving access to democracy and its
benefits to ever widening portions of society. Socialists—especially
those organized in Marxist-oriented European social democratic
parties—proved adept at mobilizing popular support during political,
economic, and other crises to push forward agendas aiming to combat
the social inequalities created by industrial capitalism, to broaden
citizenly enfranchisement in order to include formerly excluded
groups (for example, wage-earning workers and women), and to pursue
many other reformist or revolutionary goals. Geoff Eley’s landmark
study Forging Democracy (2002), is among the strongest recent
arguments for the importance of the socialist Left in shaping and
democratizing modern European history, particularly through its
capacity for mobilizing in response to crisis. We are pleased that
Eley will be present at the conference to give a key-note address and
engage in a discussion of his theses.

Alongside impressive successes, resounding defeats and setbacks have
characterized socialism’s record in modern Europe and around the
world. But until the late 1960s, conventional socialist or social
democratic parties stood at the center of this drama and
self-consciously led the European Left, while more revolutionary
variants held sway in the “developing” world. Since the late 1960s,
however, the socialist Left has declined in influence due to the rise
of identity and one-issue movements (for example, feminist and
environmentalist movements), the changing geographies and modalities
of the global economy and labor, the concomitant weakening of trade
unions that had constituted socialism’s traditional base of support
in many countries, the final discrediting and collapse of
Soviet-style “real existing socialism” in Eastern Europe, the growing
power of neo-liberalism as the ideology of the political mainstream,
and other structural and contingent changes. These developments have
challenged conventional socialist politics’ claims to leadership of
the political Left and have led many to question socialism’s very
relevance. 

Since the 2008 onset of the current economic crisis, critiques of
capitalism—many of them invoking Marx and/or the socialist
mobilizations of previous eras—have re-entered mainstream political
debates in Europe and around the world. Scholarly discussions about
this legacy and its contemporary relevance have also profited from a
surge in interest. Not least, socialist parties have won some
significant electoral contests, as they recently did in France. Yet
in many places, conventional socialist or Leftist political parties
still remain on the defensive and some of the most recent popular
mobilizations that challenge the political and economic status quo
(for instance, the Occupy Movement) generally reject alliances or
identification with established socialist politics. 

In this climate, we think it timely to consider the historical
trajectory of socialism—in all its diverse forms—through crisis and
mobilization. We understand crisis in the broadest sense of the word,
encompassing not just economic downturns, but also political, social,
cultural, and environmental crises as well as war, famine, natural
disasters, and other disruptions. Crises vary in scale too, from the
global or continental level down to the local. By bringing together
scholars from multiple disciplines who specialize in various time
periods and places across the globe, and by opening broad temporal,
comparative, and transnational vistas, we hope to update and enrich
the scholarly conversation about socialism(s). Among the core
questions that we aim to address are:

- How have socialist politics developed historically as a response to
crisis, broadly defined, and through mobilization?
- Why have certain people and movements in history self-identified as
“socialist,” and which theories and concepts have they drawn on? 
- How and what did these people and movements learn from their
activist experiences, and what are the memories and legacies of mass
mobilization in times of crisis? 
- What lessons – if any – do present-day activists and movements draw
from the past, and how are various memories and myths appropriate to
current debates and actions?
- To what extent have socialist mobilizations that respond to crisis
displayed unique characteristics in the non-European/western or
developing world?
- What have socialist mobilizations accomplished (or not
accomplished) in attempting to redefine the relationships between the
state and society and between society and capitalism?
- How has the recent economic crisis contributed to, or changed,
socialist politics as well as our understanding of socialism as an
aspect of European or global modernity?
- How have socialists (of any sort) stood in relation to other
Leftist political groupings and/or non-Leftists in responding to
crisis, both historically and today? 
- To what extent does “socialism” remain a useful category for
animating/galvanizing or studying mobilizations of a certain kind?

In addition to papers that address one or more of these questions, we
invite papers or panels dealing with any of the following broad
thematic areas in any part of the world that have relevance to the
central conference theme:

I. Capitalism in Crisis: Experiences, diagnoses and solutions, past
and present
II. Riots, Revolts & Revolutions: Violent reactions, street
activisms, and their outcomes
III. Parties & Movements: Organisations, networks, and institutions 
IV. Ideas & Programs: Analyses, ideologies, and remedies 
V. Rebels & Leaders: Who is in charge, why and how? 
VI. Elites & Masses: Interests, alliances, and encounters 

We invite both junior and senior scholars to present results of
research, works-in-progress, or polished papers concerning these
issues and others related to the general workshop theme. We are
interested in receiving individual paper proposals and proposals for
panel sessions. The organizers will consider publishing some of the
contributions following the conference.  Conference presentations
will be 15 minutes in length.
Please email your proposal (250-300 words) along with a brief (100
words max.) academic bio, to 
H-SOCIALISMS at H-NET.MSU.EDU by September 30, 2012. 

Keynote speaker: 
Geoff Eley (University of Michigan):  Forging Democracy: On the
history of the “Left”, 1850-2000

The organizers are: 
Giovanni Bernardini, German-Italian Historical Institute - FBK,
Trento, Italy
Christina Morina, Friedrich-Schiller University Jena, Germany 
Jakub S. Beneš University of California, Davis, USA
Kasper Braskén, Åbo Akademi University, Finland

For more information on HOSAS/H-Socialisms, visit:
www.h-net.org/~socialisms/

------------------------------------------------------
Ilmoituksen lähetti: Kasper Braskén <kasper.brasken at abo.fi>
Ilmoitus vanhentuu: 01.10.2012
Lisätietoja WWW-osoitteesta: http://www.h-net.org/~socialisms/