Call for Papers

JURAJ DOBRILA UNIVERSITY OF PULA
Centre for Cultural and Historical Research of Socialism (CKPIS)

2nd International Conference Socialism on the Bench
SOCIALISM: CONSTRUCTION AND DECONSTRUCTION
Pula, Croatia, October 1-3, 2015

The great response generated by the first International conference organized
by the CKPIS, titled Socialism on the Bench. Cultural and Historical
Interpretations of Yugoslav and Post-Yugoslav Societies, and held in Pula,
5-7 December 2013, has demonstrated the necessity to establish a continuity
of meetings among scholars dealing with the cultural and historical aspects
of socialism. With almost one hundred participants, the conference in Pula
also became a generational academic gathering. The conference showed that
the metaphorical idea of "putting socialism on the bench" (on the researcher’s
or student's desk, or, depending of the researcher's interpretation, on the
court bench or the substitutes’ bench) could constitute a framework of
productive academic dialogue and researchers’ exchange. Many conference
papers have been published in the book Socialism on the Bench in 2013 and in
the special issues of three Croatian academic journals in 2014 (Časopis za
suvremenu povijest, Historijski zbornik, Narodna umjetnost). With its second
international conference, the Centre for Cultural and Historical Research of
Socialism wishes to pursue and enhance the practice of biannual meetings
among scholars who are focusing on the study of socialism.

The second International Conference Socialism on the Bench is centred on the
theme Socialism: Construction and Deconstruction and aims to connect
socialist and post-socialist experiences in Europe by including Yugoslav,
post-Yugoslav and European topics. It will take place on the 70th
anniversary of the establishment of socialist Yugoslavia and on the 25th
anniversary of the first multiparty elections held in Yugoslav republics
that were soon to gain their independence. In a broader European historical
context, 1945 stands as the year in which post-war state socialist regimes
were established, while 1990 marks the peak of their dissolution. Thus, the
conference will encompass the questions and problems that rose from the
establishment of communist power and from the introduction of socialism in
Europe, such as, for instance, the particularities of socialist social and
economic model, its domestic and foreign policies in relation to its Cold
War and internal ideological enemies, the concept of mass and social
equality, the idea of the socialist ‘new man’ and the application of
principles of modernity and its corresponding cultural policies. Along with
our focus on formative processes and their various articulations, from
political to artistic, our aim is to emphasize the complexity of phenomena
that emerge from the dissolution of socialism. The demise of socialism opens
up various research topics, ranging from the economic and social crisis of
the early 1980s, the so called decadent socialism and its grey areas, to the
introduction of market economy and of parliamentary democracy, which led to
the dissolution of the Yugoslav federation and other socialist federative
states and to the emergence of the concept of "transition" in the 1990s. The
dissolution of socialism also includes its post-socialist “remains” in the
cultural sphere, particularly contemporary articulations of the new social
context and current representations of the socialist period in literature,
media, film and culture.

The goal of the conference is to strengthen the communication and
collaboration between scholars, to encourage research and epistemological
dialogue, to perceive and discuss topical, methodological and
interpretational similarities, as well as different experiences in the
research of socialism.

There is no conference fee. Participants will have to arrange their own trip
and accommodation. Conference organizers will provide two main meals (dinner
and supper) during the three days of the conference and arrange a discount
at the recommended hotel. Depending on the participants’ interest, it will
be possible to agree on joint publication projects after the conference. The
conference languages will be Croatian (and mutually understandable regional
languages) and English. Presentation time is 15 minutes.

A 200 word proposal in Croatian or English and a brief CV should be
submitted by the 1st of April 2015. Proposals can be submitted via e-mail to
the following address ckpis.conf at gmail.com. By the 30th of April, applicants
will be notified about the acceptance of their proposal and will receive
further details about the conference.

We are looking forward to your submissions!

Organization Committee
Lada Duraković, chair
Boris Koroman, secretary
Chiara Bonfiglioli
Igor Duda
Andrea Matošević
Igor Stanić

Conference web-site: http://www.unipu.hr/index.php?id=1873