13th Genealogies of Memory 2023: Pandemics, Famines and Industrial Disasters of the 20th and 21st Centuries

The aim of the conference – carried out as part of the 13th edition of the ‘Genealogies of Memory’ project – will be an attempt to draw attention to the discourses of memory and non-remembrance of large-scale natural and human-induced disasters in 20th-century Europe. We want to bring to the fore the perspective of diverse social actors – both individual and collective, thus thematising the presence of such events in individual (family), regional and collective memory. For these an important area of expression were the changing public narratives (of both authoritarian and communist, as well as democratic governments of 20th-century Europe) as well as popular ones, present particularly in cultural texts (film, literature, etc.). We are also interested in reflecting on the presence of these issues in contemporary public spaces – material and artistic (monuments, memorials, exhibitions, etc.) as well as in open debate.

To what extent is/has the memory of these population-threatening phenomena been influenced by the political and social transformations of the 20th century in East-Central Europe? And how does this region differ from Western European countries? This is also one of the important questions we will try to answer.

In the discussions, we would like to focus on four selected aspects of 20th-century natural and man-made disasters:

1. Epidemics: Spanish flu in East-Central Europe and other interwar and post-war epidemics of infectious diseases (e.g. polio, diphtheria, tuberculosis and AIDS) and contemporary discourses of memory and their visual and textual representations.
2. Famines – crop failures – food rationing – memory/commemoration of victims and humanitarian aid, food distribution and class/social inequalities, nationalisms/imperialism – how does the memory of famines and food crises in East-Central and Western Europe function – in grassroots (private, family) and public memory.
3. Human-induced industrial disasters – ecology – fear versus ideology of progress – modernity (industrialisation) – communist censorship versus discourses of memory – industrial disasters in people’s democracies versus practices of tabooisation (and censorship); environmental activism in East-Central Europe (especially in anti-communist opposition circles versus contemporary memory and public discussions of environmental threats).
4. Practices of constructing memory of man-made/natural disasters – changing memories, shifting agencies, human and non-human aspects of memory (as objects, industrial landscapes, etc.), 20th-century memory patterns versus the discourse of the Anthropocene, the discourse of the apocalypse and the future of memory.
   

To apply please send the following documents to: genealogies@enrs.eu by 26 May 2023:
• Abstract (maximum 300 words)
• Brief biographical note (up to 200 words)
• Scan/photo of the signed Consent Clause which can be found here

Applicants will be notified of the results by the 30 June 2023. Written draft papers (2,000–2,500 words) should be submitted by the 15 October 2023.

History of the Philosophy of Pregnancy

Authors are invited to submit abstracts of approximately 500 words for a conference entitled “History of the Philosophy of Pregnancy,” hosted by the Philosophy Department of the University of Dayton, as part of its Richard R. Baker colloquia series (Dayton, OH, USA). The conference will be held on October 6-7^th, 2023. The conference is open for in-person and virtual presentations. 

The conference is motivated by the dearth of historical scholarship on the philosophy of pregnancy. Historical scholarship on reproduction tends to focus on the conception and development of the embryo  — ‘generation’ and ’embryology’ — treating the developing organism as an independent entity. As a consequence, pregnancy is written out of the causal story. The goal of this conference is to recover a history of the philosophy of pregnancy and bring the work and experiences of the pregnant individual into focus.

Making Modern Maternity: Special Issue CFP

The following is an invitation for submissions to a special journal to be proposed to Medical Humanities on the topic “Making Modern Maternity.” The aim for the special issue will be to explore the ways in which pregnancy, childbirth, and maternal experiences have been constructed as “modern” (or not) at multiple sites and through various forms of media including popular magazines, newspapers, television and film, fiction, “expert” advice, advertisements, and medical records. In terms of temporal and geographic scope, we are soliciting contributions that focus on the late-nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries, with no geographical restrictions.

Possible topics include:

• The role of women’s magazines in shaping maternity, especially in the
  nineteenth and twentieth centuries
• Advertisements for new reproductive technologies, especially as they appear in publications and other print venues targeting particular communities and/or demographics of women
• Books, pamphlets, and women’s health guides offering advice on pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood
• The role of medical experts in shaping expectations about maternity through medical writing, public health campaigns, etc.
• The ways in which consumerism and capitalism have driven the market for maternity-related objects
• The medicalization of maternity and representations of technological/medical interventions during pregnancy and childbirth
• Representations of maternity in popular media, including TV, film, video games, and commercials Histories of reproductive designs, including the designs of reproductive technologies and maternity-related objects

Submission Timeline

April 30, 2023: Abstract Submission Deadline. Please submit, as a single attachment (word doc or PDF), an abstract of up to 300 words along with a 100-150-word bio to the editors at making.modern.maternity@gmail.com.

May 15, 2023: Notification of decisions on Abstracts from special issue editors.

May 31, 2023: Special Issue Proposal Submitted to Medical Humanities.

July 31, 2023: Anticipated Full Paper Submission Deadline. Authors of accepted abstracts will submit their original research articles to the Medical Humanities ScholarOne portal for peer-review. Notes and references should follow CMS guidelines. Exact deadline TBA, pending response from Medical Humanities.

Please reach out to the editors with any questions regarding the proposed special issue and/or potential submissions (making.modern.maternity@gmail.com).

Intensity and the Grades of Nature: Heat, Colour and Sound in the Ordering
of Pre-Modern Cosmos: 1200-1600

Dates: 11-14 July 2023 

This hybrid summer school event is open to scholars of all careers and stages. As per previous events, it takes place in the outstanding setting of the Domus Comeliana (50m from the leaning tower) and it spans four days, articulated as 3+1, namely three days of lectures and guided visits to the city, plus a final day dedicated entirely to workshops, roundtables, presentation and discussion of attendees’ reports. The event will present and discuss a variety of verbal and non-verbal sources (e.g. manuscripts, images, music pieces, and artefacts) in a multidisciplinary approach that aims at attracting and welcoming scholars with different backgrounds, interests and expertise. For full details see https://csmbr.fondazionecomel.org/events/the-intensity-of-nature/

Early Bird Deadline: 28 February

Regular Deadline: 30 June 

Second Opinions: 18th Biennial Conference of the ANZSHM

Australia and New Zealand Society of the History of Medicine (ANZSHM) conferences are held on a biennial basis. The conference usually spans 3-5 days at venues around Australia and New Zealand. The program includes keynote addresses, a varied program of research papers and other intellectual and social activities. Financial assistance in the form of Ben Haneman Memorial Conference Grants for Postgraduate Students and Early Career Researchers is available on a competitive basis for students to attend the conference.

​12 -15 July 2023, University of Adelaide, Health & Medical Science Building

Call for Abstracts now open – closes April 2023.