In search of revolution 1916-1923: Germany and its European context

In search of revolution 1916-1923: Germany and its European context

Veranstalter
Prof. (apl.) Dr. Klaus Weinhauer (Bielefeld University); Prof. Dr. Anthony McElligott (CHR, University of Limerick); PD Dr. Kirsten Heinsohn (Acting Director, FZH)
Veranstaltungsort
Forschungsstelle für Zeitgeschichte in Hamburg (FZH), Beim Schlump 83, D-20144 Hamburg, Germany
Ort
Hamburg
Land
Deutschland
Vom - Bis
21.03.2013 - 23.03.2013
Deadline
29.02.2012
Website
Von
Prof. Dr. Klaus Weinhauer

When compared to the state of research on the First World War as well as on the Weimar Republic the German Revolution as an integral part of the revolutionary era from 1916 to 1923 in Europe as a discrete field is understudied. Since the path-breaking studies of the 1960s (Tormin, von Oertzen, Kolb, Rürup) research on the German Revolution has broken little new ground. Moreover, up to the present day the historiography of the German Revolution has not moved beyond the politically and ideologically biased patterns of interpretation that characterized the debates in the following two decades. These debates themselves mirrored the conflicts and divisions within a broadly defined left, which themselves were based on the earliest interpretations of the revolution dating back to the beginning of the 1920s. The paradigm created by this discourse continues to dominate approaches to the revolution of 1918. The wider developments in scholarly methodology and concepts over the past three decades which have infiltrated most areas of historical research today have by-passed the German Revolution. It is now almost fifty years since the debates kicked-off by Tormin et al. were inaugurated.

This interdisciplinary symposium seeks to do two things: Firstly, we want to broaden the scope of the debate on the German Revolution beyond its present narrow political parameters by incorporating its social/cultural, literary/discursive, political/legal and commemorative/memory aspects; and secondly, related to this, we want to re-historicize the German Revolution by reinserting it into the era of revolutionary ferment in Europe between 1916 and 1923 through comparative analysis, which also aims at integrating colonial influences. To this end we wish to invite scholars working on Germany, Europe and Britain & Ireland in this period to submit proposals for contributions that might open the field towards a new interdisciplinary and transnational paradigm of revolution in this period.

In particular we welcome proposals focusing on
- revolution in its everyday setting
- revolution as social practice and social memory
- revolution and its contemporary discourses
- revolution as cultural agenda
- revolution as national history/public narrative.

English language proposals of around 500 words should be emailed to all three organizers not later than 29 February 2012; full papers will be pre-circulated by January 2013.

The symposium is hosted by the Forschungsstelle für Zeitgeschichte in Hamburg (FZH) and will take place on 21-23 March 2013.

Papers and discussion will be in English.

Speakers include Ellen Kennedy (Pennsylvania, USA), Peter Brandt (Hagen), Steven Smith (EUI/Essex), Andreas Wirsching (Munich).

Programm

Kontakt

Prof. Dr. Klaus Weinhauer: klaus.weinhauer@uni-bielefeld.de

Prof. Dr. Anthony McElligott: Anthony.McElligott@ul.ie

PD Dr. Kirsten Heinsohn: heinsohn@zeitgeschichte-hamburg.de