Protesting War in the Twentieth Century | 13–14 June 2024 | Northumbria University
Call for Papers, deadline – 26 January 2024
This two-day symposium takes war in the twentieth century as its central theme. Rather than detailing the conduct and contours of war, however, the symposium will instead explore how of a range of individuals, non-state actors, and associational groups protested against war and organised armed conflict across, what Eric Hobsbawm described as, a ‘century of almost unbroken war’.
Instead of focusing on a single war, the symposium is concerned with the range of conflicts which spanned the twentieth century. We therefore invite proposals which address opposition to war and conflict, in the broadest sense, on a local, national, and global scale. Themes could include (but are not limited to):
- Peace movements and political opposition to war.
- The state and protest: conflict and compromise.
- Reception and responses: attitudes towards pacifists, conscientious objectors, and anti-war protestors.
- Resisting war through conscientious objection and other forms of non-violence.
- Moral, ethical, and emotional histories of protest.
- Lived experiences and voices of individuals who objected to/protested against war.
- The visual and material culture of protest/objection.
- Protesting war through music, art, literature, film, and other forms of popular culture.
- The memorialisation and remembrance of anti-war protests.
We welcome papers from any relevant discipline. We are particularly keen to encourage contributions from postgraduate students, early career researchers, and scholars from groups and institutions who are currently underrepresented in the field. Proposals for 20-minute papers should include a title, an abstract of c.250–300 words, and a short bio. Submissions, expressions of interest, and any queries should be submitted to the organisers: Dr Linsey Robb (linsey.robb@northumbria.ac.uk) and Dr Rowan Thompson (rowan2.thompson@northumbria.ac.uk). The deadline for proposal submissions is 26 January 2024. It is the intention that an edited collection will be published based on the symposium.
Thanks to funding from the AHRC, we have a limited number of bursaries available to contribute towards travel or accommodation costs. We will prioritise PGRs, ECRs, and those with no institutional support: please let us know in your application if you would like to be considered. We do not anticipate having to charge a symposium fee.
Please note this symposium will be held as an in-person event.
Header Image Source: Imperial War Museum, Peace Pledge Union Poster, 1940, LBY [O]K. 12 / 1965