German Studies Association Seminar 2023: "Global Nazism” is calling for online proposals. Submission Deadline is March 3rd, 2023.

After decades in which scholarship on the Nazi era focused on German-speaking Central Europe and contiguous occupied territories, the last twenty years have seen a welcome shift to transnational and global perspectives. As part of a system of empires in an era of war, advanced capitalism, dynamic borders, and massive migrations, the Third Reich’s global entanglements involved not only treaty violations, alliance building among fascist countries, imperialist warfare, and attempts to racially purify Europe, but also bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, political and cultural interactions, and showing off the “new Germany” to the world.

This seminar will reexamine Nazism in light of new research that orients analysis away from the specificities of Germany and toward overarching trends. The convenors invite contributions with geographical diversity (Nazi connections with other regions); thematic breadth (shared conceptions of race and space, geopolitics, diplomacy, cultural and social interactions); and chronological depth (global precursors to and legacies of the Third Reich). A global perspective counters notions of German exceptionalism, decenters Europe, and emphasizes the interconnectedness of events, people, and systems across the world.

Having received a contract to produce an edited volume (The Routledge History of Global Nazism), we see this seminar as the beginning of our efforts to identify potential contributions and potentially the basis for another seminar, panel series, and/or roundtable at a future GSA. We envision 4–6 2500-word papers per session, with a modest (8–10 minute) comment (no formal presentations) by the Chair/Discussant, then brief (3–5 minute) responses by paper contributors, before opening it up to general discussion.

We are looking forward to proposals for this seminar that will take place during the German Studies Association's annual conference, October 5–8, 2023. Please submit an abstract describing the nature of your contribution to the seminar (500 words max), as well as a short biography (300 words max).

The application period will close on March 3, 2023 through the GSA Website (https://www.thegsa.org/conference) or directly here (https://www.thegsa.org/blog/cfa-seminar-participant-applications-gsa-2023) Please note that you need to be a GSA member to submit an abstract.

Co-organizers:

This Seminar is jointly organized by:
Jennifer Evans, Carleton University (Ontario, Canada), JenniferEvans@cunet.carleton.ca
Eric Kurlander, Stetson University (Florida, US), ekurland@stetson.edu
Julia Torrie, St. Thomas University (New Brunswick, Canada), jtorrie@stu.ca
Jonathan Wiesen, University of Alabama at Birmingham (Alabama, US), jwiesen@uab.edu

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.