Nov 15, 2006

CfP: Political Culture and Cultural Politics in Central and South East Europe

Call for Proposals

Political Culture and Cultural Politics in Central and South East Europe, 1850-1950

International Workshop - Sofia, 5-7 July 2007

Organisers:
Institute of Balkan Studies with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Research Group in European Urban Culture Newcastle, UK

Urbanization transformed both central and south-eastern Europe during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, creating new social groups, and new ways of perceiving society which in turn informed new forms of politics. There is already an extensive literature on the national politics of these regions, from the nationalities policies and nationalist movements of the German and Austro-Hungarian empires to the party politics of the successor states.

The aim of this workshop is to examine the development of political cultures in a range of different kinds of urban environment from the two regions. The focus will be on points of contact between culture and politics in two broad categories.

Political culture will be defined as the cultural forms and media in which politics finds expression, or through which political ideas are transmitted:

- press and news media

- pamphlets and political literature

- contemporary scholarship and academic research

- propaganda and state publicity

- caricature, satire, and commentary

- slogans, symbols and uniforms

- music and songs

Cultural politics will be understood as the ways in which culture is political in the broadest sense, or has political purposes:

- cultural and educational policies of national and local governments

- the establishment of cultural institutions

- relations between government or political movements and cultural industries

- political uses of popular culture (whether commercial or `grass roots')

- the politics of memorials and monuments

- ritual, ceremony, the performance of politics and staging of history

- political activities or affiliations of art movements

- political uses of sport, sporting events and leisure activities, including tourism

Participants will examine the ways in which culture has been used to reinforce or undermine political authority, or has assisted the growth and development of political movements, and they will look at the ways in which culture and cultural events have been used explicitly by those with political authority to further political ends.

Presentations will be 30 minutes and followed by time for discussion. Proposals should be up to 500 words.

Deadline for submitting proposals: 5 January 2007

Contact:
Dobrinka Parusheva (clio_dp@yahoo. co.uk);
Tim Kirk (t.b.kirk@ncl. ac.uk)

[sursa balkans]