Background
The “transition” of political systems in Southern Europe and Latin America since the 1970s and the revolutionary changes in Central and Eastern Europe in 1989/91 have resulted in the rise of “transformation studies” in social sciences. The term transformation is commonly understood as the politically steered transition from communist dictatorship to democracy, from a planned to a market economy, and from a closed to an open society. In contrast to this teleological reading the 6th GRACEH conference intends to explore a historical approach to transformation. A very broad working definition of the term would characterize transformation as a “period of especially intense and accelerated structural changes on a political, social, economic, and cultural level” that were caused by major political and social upheavals such as the breakdown of the continental empires in 1918, the French Revolution in the late 18th century, or the Reformation. Unlike the social sciences, we wish to broaden the application as far back as to the beginning of modern age. In what way can this concept of transformation be applied to contemporary, modern and early modern contexts? What kind of adjustments of the concept are required for the historicization of transformation?
Topics/ research areas:
- Continuity and discontinuity in transformation periods
- Agents of transformation
- Transfers and transnational dimensions of transformation
- Synchronic and diachronic comparative approaches for a history of transformation(s)
- Historical source material of transformation research
- Macro- and microhistorical approaches to transformation
- Legitimizations of transformation such as nation building, independence, liberty, and economical welfare, social movements, social
network analysis, gender issues.
Fees
The conference has no registration fee. We offer logistic help to find good and low budget accommodation near the University of Vienna. A limited part of the travel cost for external participants can be covered on the basis of individual request (if you'd like to apply for a stipend, please provide documentation about your economic situation).
Deadline: 15 January 2012
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