Social and Labour History News

Journées d'études à l'Université de Tours, les jeudi 27 et vendredi 28 novembre 2025

L'industrialisation des sociétés a transformé en profondeur les mondes du travail et des armées. Les guerres elles-mêmes se sont industrialisées et ont, par à-coups successifs, changé d'échelle depuis le milieu du XIXe siècle. Les guerres de Crimée (1853-1856) puis de Sécession (1861-1865) ont été les premiers conflits à reposer sur l'action d'armées mécanisées : canonnières plus puissantes, pièces d'artillerie d'un calibre plus conséquent, locomotives plus performantes sont autant de produits industriels qui ont permis ce changement d'échelle.

Dans ce contexte d'industrialisation à la fois des sociétés, de leurs économies et des guerres, il devient alors nécessaire de comprendre comment les conflits armés bouleversent les mondes du travail. La mobilisation des travailleurs a toujours occupé une place centrale dans l'histoire des conflits contemporains, en particulier dans les études de la Première et de la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Cette histoire est depuis plusieurs décennies sortie du simple récit de la mise au service de l'appareil productif et industriel en vue d'un effort de guerre et a laissé place, notamment à partir des années 1980 et 1990 à une histoire sociale et politique prêtant attention aux mouvements syndicaux, au travail à l'arrière comme au travail en contexte d'occupation, et aux recompositions sociales qui en ont découlé. 

Sous l'effet des approches transnationales, des travaux sur les empires coloniaux et des études de genre, de nouvelles perspectives se sont ouvertes dans ce champ d'études. Une attention nouvelle a été portée aux acteurs (main-d'œuvre féminine, mais aussi travailleurs racisés sur les fronts européens, contribution des travailleurs coloniaux à l'économie de guerre globale, etc.) et leur agentivité, explorant tant les stratégies individuelles que collectives. Si l'étude du travail forcé a été centrale dans l'approche des régimes nazis et soviétiques en guerre (Bonwetsch, 1993; Plato, Leh & Thonfeld, 2010; Westerhoff, 2012), des mises en lumière du travail contraint dans les empires coloniaux ont permis - avec profit - de dresser des ponts entre les théâtres européens et les empires coloniaux français et britanniques, sortant ainsi du seul cadre occidental (Tiquet, 2019; Stanziani, 2020). Cette extension des horizons pourrait être appliquée à d'autres espaces et conflits, comme l'ont esquissé de premiers travaux sur la guerre de Sécession américaine (Lause, 2015; Zonderman, 2021) ou la guerre du Vietnam (Foner, 1989; Sears, 2010).

Les renouvellements historiographiques récents ont également invité à considérer que le travail en temps de guerre ne saurait se réduire à la production directement liée à l'économie de guerre, pas plus qu'aux seules formes rémunérées d'activités productives. Le travail industriel ne peut de fait exister sans le travail agricole, le travail domestique et reproductif, ou encore les activités administratives, essentielles à la conduite des guerres modernes. 

Cette définition large du travail en temps de guerre est d'autant plus cruciale que les armées de la fin du XIXe et du XXe siècle sont pour beaucoup des armées de conscription. La mobilisation large d'une grande partie des hommes de la population active, y compris dans les armées qui reposent sur le volontariat, perturbe fortement les mondes du travail des nations belligérantes et oblige les gouvernements à répartir les hommes autant que les moyens. 

Pour mieux saisir la complexité des liens entre travail et guerres, il est donc nécessaire d'adopter une vision la plus englobante possible, que ce soit du point de vue de la typologie des guerres, puisque ni les guerres civiles, ni les guerres de basse intensité ne sont exclues de la réflexion, ou de l'espace géographique. En variant les échelles, il sera ainsi possible de mêler les réflexions portant sur les espaces européens, coloniaux, non européens, ainsi que de déplacer la focale entre les différents espaces d'une société en guerre : front, arrière, métropole, colonies, théâtres périphériques.

Enfin, cette approche vise à s'inscrire dans une démarche interdisciplinaire, faisant appel aux apports de l'histoire – en particulier d'une histoire sociale de la guerre dont les objets d'étude excèdent la seule sphère militaire – mais aussi de l'économie et de l'économie politique. La volonté de s'intéresser aux acteurs ordinaires de ces conflits implique de mobiliser les apports de la sociologie du travail. En outre, les réflexions incluront des enjeux étudiés par la science juridique, tant le monde du travail durant les conflits fait l'objet d'innovations afin d'inclure les individus dans des statuts exceptionnels pour mieux encadrer en droit leur participation à l'effort de guerre.

 

4 axes problématiques seront proposés afin de structurer le déroulement des journées d'études

Optimiser la main-d'œuvre en temps de guerre

Un premier axe entend inscrire les réflexions sur le travail en temps de guerre sous l'angle de l'allocation des ressources humaines en fonction des besoins respectifs, et potentiellement concurrents, des sphères civile et militaire. Cette étude de l'optimisation du "capital humain" conduit à interroger le travail sous l'angle d'une mobilisation de la main-d'œuvre, qui peut alors être soustraite à l'armée de conscription, sous des régimes juridiques particuliers, mais aussi passer par la mobilisation d'autres catégories de travailleurs : étrangers, coloniaux, prisonniers, femmes, etc. 

Les questions de mobilisation de la main-d'œuvre prennent une dimension particulière dans les espaces dits périphériques, notamment extra-européens, où elles s'effectuent selon des méthodes coloniales, en décalage avec les cadres et les pratiques en vigueur dans les métropoles. 

Le travail lors des transitions de la paix vers la guerre et de la guerre vers la paix 

Un deuxième axe portera une attention renforcée au monde du travail dans les temps de transition de la paix vers la guerre et de la guerre vers la paix. Ces moments charnières, par les reconfigurations et ajustements qu'ils supposent, permettent d'interroger les permanences du travail et ses transformations dans le contexte extra-ordinaire de la guerre. Si les recompositions des secteurs professionnels après les guerres ont commencé à être interrogées, renverser la perspective pourrait être d'autant plus fructueux en se demandant comment les mondes du travail ont pu être préparés - ou pas - aux conflits. Les continuités du travail entre les temps de guerre et de paix seront ainsi interrogées. Des études "par en-bas" permettraient aussi de mettre en perspective les éventuelles transformations dans les identités professionnelles apportées par les conflits, que ce soit positivement par le réemploi de compétences et savoirs acquis sous statut militaire, ou négativement par le problématique reclassement des soldats, notamment des blessés.

Mobilisations sociales, travail et conflits 

Un troisième axe sera consacré aux effets qu'ont les conflits sur les mobilisations et les luttes sociales, qu'ils en soient les accélérateurs ou qu'ils aient au contraire pour effet de les neutraliser. L'évaluation du rôle des ouvriers et paysans dans des processus révolutionnaires qui prennent la forme de guerres civiles (Russie, Espagne) permet d'interroger la porosité entre mobilisation sociale et lutte armée. D'autre part, les guerres modernes, en ce qu'elles mobilisent massivement les mondes du travail, suscitent des attitudes diverses des organisations ouvrières, entre participation à de temporaires « unions sacrées » et opposition à des conflits perçus comme contraires aux intérêts des travailleurs. En particulier, ce que la guerre fait à la cohésion des mondes du travail et à leur mobilisation sociale est une problématique qui traverse l'ensemble de la période, selon des logiques sans cesse recomposées. Plus globalement, on s'intéressera à la question de la répression des mouvements sociaux durant les conflits armés.

 Genre et travail durant les conflits 

Un quatrième axe proposera de s'intéresser à ce que les guerres font aux normes de genre telles qu'elles s'expriment dans le travail. Souvent présentées comme des moments de féminisation de la main-d'œuvre pour "remplacer" les hommes partis au front, les guerres ont également été des moments de renforcement des stéréotypes de genre dans le monde du travail. Si du fait de l'absence des hommes, les femmes ont pu accéder à de nouveaux types d'emploi, de nouveaux espaces professionnels et de nouvelles activités, elles ont souvent dû les rendre dans les après-guerres. De plus, le travail des femmes durant les conflits s'est également effectué au sein d'espaces traditionnellement féminins et a même renforcé certains imaginaires sociaux liés au travail des femmes. Il s'agira donc, au travers des reconfigurations des mondes du travail, de mettre en évidence les formes nouvelles de masculinités et de féminités que créent les conflits armés ainsi que les réalités, nouvelles ou non, du travail des femmes en temps de guerre.

Modalités de participation

Les journées d'études se tiendront les jeudi 27 et vendredi 28 novembre 2025 à l'université de Tours. Les frais de déplacement et d'hébergement seront couverts par l'organisation.

Ces journées mettront en dialogue des articles d'un maximum de 50 000 signes (notes et espaces compris) partagés au préalable avec les participant·e·s (début novembre 2025), en vue de leur soumission ultérieure à une revue à comité de lecture dans le cadre d'un dossier thématique.

Nous invitons les personnes désireuses d'y contribuer à faire parvenir un résumé de l'article projeté (1 000 signes max.) ainsi qu'un court curriculum vitae d'ici le lundi 31 mars 2025 à l'adresse suivante : accoulon@univ-tours.fr

L'acceptation ou non des propositions sera notifiée au plus tard fin juin 2025.

Comité d'organisation

• Damien Accoulon (Université de Tours), accoulon@univ-tours.fr
• Clément Collard (Sciences Po Paris), clement.collard@sciencespo.fr 
• Candice Grelaud (Université Lumière Lyon 2), candice.grelaud@ens-lyon.fr 
• Gwendal Piégais (University College Dublin), gwendal.piegais@ucd.ie 

Comité scientifique

• Jérôme Bocquet (Université de Tours)
• Emmanuelle Cronier (Université de Picardie Jules Verne)
• John Horne (Trinity College Dublin)
• Julie Le Gac (Université Paris Nanterre)
• Elisa Marcobelli (Université de Rouen Normandie)
• Stéphanie Sauget (Université de Tours)
• Xavier Vigna (Université Paris Nanterre)

Bibliographie indicative

Bieber Hans-Joachim, Gewerkschaften in Krieg und Revolution: Arbeiterbewegung, Industrie, Staat und Militär in Deutschland: 1914-1920, Hamburg, Christians, 1981, 1248 p.

Bonwetsch Bernd, « Sowjetische Zwangsarbeiter vor und nach 1945: Ein doppelter Leidensweg », Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas, 1993, vol. 41, no 4, p. 532‑546.

Culleton Claire A., Working Class Culture, Women, and Britain, 1914-1921, New York, St. Martin's Press, 2000, 221 p.

Daniel Ute, The War from Within: German Working-Class Women in the First World War, Oxford, Berg (coll. « The Legacy of the Great War »), 1997, 343 p.

Fauroux Camille, Produire la guerre, produire le genre : des Françaises au travail dans l'Allemagne nationale-socialiste (1940-1945), Paris, Éditions EHESS, 2020, 310 p.

Feldman Gerald, Army, Industry and Labour in Germany, 1914-1918, London, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014 [1966], 586 p.

Foner Philip Sheldon, U.S. Labor and the Viet-Nam War, New York, International Publishers, 1989, 180 p.

Haimson Leopold H. et Tilly Charles (eds.), Strikes, Wars and Revolutions in an International Perspective: Strike Waves in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1989, 536 p.

Horne John, « Labor and Labor Movements in World War I » dans Jay M. Winter, Geoffrey Parker et Mary R. Habeck (eds.), The Great War and the Twentieth Century, New Haven, CT, Yale University, 2000, p. 187‑228.

Lause Mark A., Free Labor: The Civil War and the Making of an American Working Class, Urbana, University of Illinois Press, 2015, 296 p.

Marcobelli Elisa, Internationalism Toward Diplomatic Crisis: The Second International and French, German and Italian Socialists, Cham, Springer International Publishing, 2021.

Peschanski Denis et Robert Jean-Louis (eds.), Les ouvriers en France pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale : actes du colloque, Paris-CNRS, 22-24 octobre 1992, Paris, Institut d'histoire du temps présent, 1992, 511 p.

Plato Alexander von, Leh Almut et Thonfeld Christoph (eds.), Hitler's Slaves: Life Stories of Forced Labourers in Nazi-Occupied Europe, New York, Berghahn Books, 2010, 552 p.

Procacci Giovanna (ed.), State e classe operaia in Italia durante la prima guerra mondiale, Milan, Franco Angeli, 1983, 340 p.

Robert Jean-Louis (ed.), Le syndicalisme à l'épreuve de la Première Guerre mondiale, Rennes, Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2017, 392 p.

Sears John Bennett, « Peace Work: The Antiwar Tradition in American Labor from the Cold War to the Iraq War », Diplomatic History, 2010, vol. 34, no 4, p. 699‑720.

Stanziani Alessandro, Les métamorphoses du travail contraint : une histoire globale (XVIIIe-XIXe siècles), Paris, Presses de Sciences Po, 2020, 328 p.

Tiquet Romain, Travail forcé et mobilisation de la main-d'œuvre au Sénégal (Années 1920 - 1960), Rennes, Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2019, 282 p.

Westerhoff Christian, Zwangsarbeit im Ersten Weltkrieg: deutsche Arbeitskräftepolitik im besetzten Polen und Litauen 1914-1918, Paderborn, Ferdinand Schöningh, 2012, 377 p.

Xu Guo Qi, Strangers on the Western Front: Chinese Workers in the Great War, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 2011, 366 p.

 

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Grelaud Candice
Doctorante en histoire contemporaine - Université Lumière Lyon 2
Laboratoire d'Etudes Rurales

Editors: Carlotta Sorba (Università di Padova / European University Institute), Michele Magri (Università di Padova).

In recent decades, the ‘material turn’ in the social sciences and historiography has highlighted how material culture shaped individuals' past social experiences, worldviews, and political spheres. This approach has contributed to the renewal of political history by focusing on its most tangible aspects. It is particularly crucial for the long 19th century, a key period in the development of modern politics. Artifacts of common and everyday use, clothing, and personal accessories – such as cockades, rosettes, medals, pins, etc. – along with various gadgets, technical and scientific instruments, and natural relics, were imbued with political meanings and messages, playing a central role in this process. Research has shown how these objects, operating on multiple dimensions – communicative, emotional, and performative – made political ideas tangible, aroused support and promoted mobilisation.

A fundamental yet relatively unexplored characteristic of these objects is their intrinsic mobility – both in time and space. Whether handcrafted or more widely manufactured as consumer goods, political objects circulated through domestic and public spaces, often crossing national borders via local and global networks of production and trade. Nineteenth-century activism, driven by diverse demands across various contexts and shaped by transnational and imperial dynamics of mobility, dialogue, and exchange, further facilitated and accelerated their movement. These objects circulated both physically – often evading censorship and restrictions – and through the symbols and figurative languages, iconography, and imagery they conveyed. In different contexts, objects and symbols could also be reworked, adapted, and reinterpreted for new uses and practices, which gave their mobility both a spatial and a temporal dimension. They thus became instruments capable of connecting different insurrectional centres across Europe, reaching peripheral areas, and fostering interaction between revolutionary cultures in the Euro-Atlantic space and globally, while also connecting national and transnational counter-revolutionary movements. They played a significant role in shaping movements for nation-building, colonial and imperial expansion and their oppositions, debates around slavery and abolitionism, liberal, constitutional, and democratic movements and their opponents, as well as social and women’s rights activism.

This special issue of Contemporanea aims to reflect on the mobility of political material culture, analysing how its circulation and transformation, both physical and symbolic, generated connections between contexts and movements, disseminated and popularised images and imagination, and redefined and influenced political sensibilities and practices during the long 19th century. Contemporanea invites proposals that explore, but are not limited to the following themes:

• Itineraries of moving political objects across local, transnational, imperial, and global scales, and their role in connecting different political spaces;
•  Circuits of production, trade and consumption;
•  Re-appropriation, re-use, and reinterpretation in new contexts, meanings, and practices;
•  Obstacles to the mobility of objects: censorship, borders, and confiscations;
•  Objects as instruments of transnational mobilisation and the construction of political networks.

Proposals of approximately 500 words, written in either Italian or English and accompanied by a brief curriculum vitae of the author, must be sent by March 17, 2025, to the editors, Carlotta Sorba (carlotta.sorba@unipd.it) and Michele Magri (michele.magri@unipd.it), copying the journal’s editorial office (contemporanea@mulino.it). Selected essays must be submitted in their final form by October 4, 2025, and will be subject to a double-blind peer review process. The special issue is scheduled for publication in spring/summer 2026.

For more information about the journal, see: https://www.mulino.it/riviste/issn/1127-3070.

Contemporanea is indexed by: Web of Science (AHCI), Scopus Bibliographic Database, Historical Abstracts, America: History and Life, ERIH Plus, Articoli italiani di periodici accademici (AIDA), JournalSeek, Essper, Bibliografia storica nazionale, Analecta-Spoglio dei periodici italiani, Dialnet, Catalogo italiano dei periodici (ACNP), Google Scholar, Primo Central (ex Libris), EDS (EBSCO).

Conference in Berlin from 17-19 September 2025

Has the Second World War ever truly ended? While the battles ceased decades ago, the war’s legacy endures − etched into the fabric of Europe’s landscapes, inscribed onto human bodies, and anchored as a cultural memory. The ruins of war persist both materially and symbolically − in the architectural remnants of destruction, in the physical and psychological scars carried across generations, and in the ruptures within language and representation. As we move into an era where the last living witnesses are disappearing, the question arises: what remains of the war, and how does it continue to shape historical consciousness?
This memory studies conference examines the material, cultural, and memorial afterlives of WWII, interrogating the role of broadly defined ruins and materiality in post-war and contemporary memory cultures and historical narratives. By bringing together scholars from various disciplines, the conference will critically engage with not only what is left of the war, but also how these remnants continue to mediate the past and shape its understanding. The academic event will finally engage in a reflection on European memory cultures of the post-war era contextualizing them within contemporary socio-political challenges.

The conference will centre on three main aspects:

1. Theoretical reflection on the materiality of memory: How does the past persist in the present through physical remnants? This theme will explore the theoretical foundations of how memory is embedded in material traces and how these remnants continue to shape contemporary perceptions of history. 2. Rethinking post-war memory cultures from the present: This section explores the constantly moving, changing nature of memory in terms of contemporary challenges. It investigates how new geopolitical and civilizational changes, as well as new forms of violence particularly Russia’s war against Ukraine—, have affected the memory of World War II. How have these developments reshaped or corrected cultural patterns and perceptions of the “other”? Furthermore, how do emerging digital technologies and unregulated social media influence the ways in which WWII is remembered and commemorated? 3. Case studies linking theory and memory practices: Presentations in this section will delve into specific examples of symbolic and literal ruins of World War II, contested narratives about war, the intergenerational transmission of complex memories and trauma etc., and the influence of the war on culture and language. What new approaches have emerged for processing and coming to terms with 1945 and the post-war era? How has WWII’s legacy remained tangible across various domains of life?
 

By integrating theoretical perspectives with empirical case studies, the conference aims to provide a comprehensive exploration of what remains of WWII in contemporary memory cultures, and what challenges memory cultures face in present times. It is directed to scholars of various disciplines, including history, sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, psychology, linguistics, literature, art history, political science, law, etc. Comparative and interdisciplinary studies are particularly welcome.

We propose the following specific thematic blocks for presentations, yet other proposals are welcome as well:

• The materiality of memory – theoretical perspectives
• History of traces, ruins and remnants of war
• Destruction of artworks and cultural heritage
• Body and representation
• Transgenerational and cultural transmission of trauma
• Narratives, textbooks, and memory cultures
• Oral history, testimony, literature
• Digital technologies and new challenges

  To apply, please, send the following documents by email to the address: genealogies@enrs.eu
The application deadline is 11 May 2025

• Abstract (maximum 300 words)
• Brief biographical note (up to 200 words)
• Scan/photo of the signed Consent Clause

Applicants will be notified of the results in early June 2025. Written draft papers (2.000–2.500 words) should be submitted by 25 August 2025.

The conference language is English. The organisers provide accommodation for the participants. There is no conference fee.

  https://enrs.eu/edition/genealogies-of-memory-2025

by Colm Murphy

The transformation of the Labour Party by 1997 is among the most consequential political developments in modern British history. Futures of Socialism overhauls the story of Labour's modernisation and provides an innovative new history. Diving into the tumultuous world of the British left after 1973, rocked by crushing defeats, bitter schisms, and ideological disorientation, Colm Murphy uncovers competing intellectual agendas for modern socialism. Responding to deindustrialisation, neoliberalism, and constitutional agitation, these visions of 'modernisation' ranged across domestic and European policy and the politics of class, gender, race, and democracy. By reconstructing the sites and networks of political debate, the book explains their changing influence inside Labour. It also throws new light on New Labour, highlighting its roots in this social-democratic intellectual maelstrom. Futures of Socialism provides an essential analysis of social democracy in an era of market liberalism, and of the ideas behind a historic political reconstruction that remains deeply controversial today.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/futures-of-socialism/7EBE9FB7D4BFD…

The editors of Labour History invite contributions that reflect the expansion in the archives, both digitized and physical, and the methods we use to craft histories of labour. 

Over its 60 years Labour History has reflected the shifting agendas of historical research. More recently globalization and the mass digitization of historical sources has provided new opportunities for locating workers and labour in the archives. It has also brought challenges as historians navigate new technologies and methodologies. We are interested in articles that demonstrate and reflect upon the practices of labour history and future trends in the field. We invite submissions that promote discussion of what labour historians do and how we do it, the opportunities and the challenges associated with labour history archives, and transnational research. Articles may include reflections on ethics, funding, politics and government policies, and new methods of dissemination (such as online exhibitions, blogs, websites and the like). We encourage submissions on the history of workers, of labour, and/or activism in diverse locations and eras. Our goal is to capture the future directions (or dilemmas) for the field of labour history.

Articles 6,000-8,000 words in length (excluding references) should be submitted to admin@labourhistory.org.au by 1 March 2025. Please follow the Style Guide in preparing your submission.

Please send queries and expressions of interest to Claire Lowrie admin@labourhistory.org.au

Labour History is published by Liverpool University Press in association with the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History. For more information on the journal, visit our website: https://www.labourhistory.org.au/journal/about/

https://www.labourhistory.org.au/call-for-papers-labour-archives-and-me…

Published without interruption since 1969, The Greek Review of Social Research is the leading journal for the social and political sciences. The editorial board consisting of three EKKE researchers and two external social scientists is appointed by EKKE’s Board of Administration for a  period of three years and is responsible for the publication procedures and the standards of the Review’s scholarship. The editorial board is supported by a scientific committee whose role is advisory as regards the development and dissemination of the journal. The Greek Review of Social Research is fully open access and has no publication charges, fees, or paywalls.

The journal is proud to be indexed by the following: Scopus (Elsevier), Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA), The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Google Scholar, Crossref, SHERPA/RoMEO, International Sociological Association (ISA), OPENAIRE: Open Access Infrastructure for Research in Europe (EC-DG INFORMATION SOCIETY and MEDIA), CiteFactor, European Website of Integration, Econbiz database, The Socio Web.

The curent issue (164/2025) can be found here: https://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/ekke

Photographers, video-makers and film-makers have readily taken an interest in street demonstrations, parades, marches and other gatherings. Sociologists, anthropologists, semiologists, historians, political scientists and other social scientists have done the same, the latter sometimes using iconographic material provided by the former. This issue of Images du travail, travail des images sets out to stimulate a meeting of minds, or at the very least, to encourage a cross-fertilisation of views. What can we learn from these moments when work is suspended, for a moment or for a day dedicated by the demonstrators to publicly asserting their demands? How do the images produced open up opportunities for a better understanding of the actions of people engaged in protest action? The focus is on the banners, placards and other objects displayed by the demonstrators, but also on the moments of preparation for the action and on the new practices of those who report on these events through images.

https://journals.openedition.org/itti/5492

11-12 September 2025, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow

This Workshop is organized by Johanna Wolf (Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory), John Howe (University of Melbourne) and Rebecca Zahn (University of Strathclyde). It is being financially supported by the Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory and the University of  Strathclyde.

A system of modern labour law comprises three broad mechanisms: a process by which labour rights and standards are determined and set as legal norms; mechanisms whereby information about the observance of labour standards is obtained and fed back into the system; and processes and mechanisms by which standards can be enforced where necessary.

While there has been extensive historical research concerning the development of labour standard setting, there has been less investigation of the second and third mechanisms of labour law – what we might call labour law enforcement. Different bodies are charged with ensuring labour law’s enforcement. For example, trade unions and labour inspectorates may monitor conditions in the workplace. Enforcement also takes place through dispute resolution bodies (such as arbitration and conciliation bodies as well as labour or industrial courts and tribunals); through trade unions calling industrial action; through other informal trade union and worker action; deployment of administrative sanctions by state agencies; or availability of court sanctions such as penalties.

From the outset, the development of national labour law was influenced by international networks and exchanges, in which both problems and solutions were discussed. Ideas circulated here, inspiring each other, being further developed, and being adapted to the respective national contexts. This circulation of ideas extended to how to ensure compliance with and enforcement of labour law. However, little is known about the history of these international networks or the paths and ideas of their protagonists. Following a successful conference at the Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory in September 2024, in which we particularly drew attention to the biographies of labour lawyers and their national and transnational paths, we now propose a focus on how ideas for labour law’s enforcement circulated and developed through individuals or international networks and organisations.

We, therefore, seek papers from researchers in law, history or other related disciplines, which explore the history of international and transnational ‘entanglements’, networks, links and other modes for the circulation and exchange of ideas across borders and jurisdictions which shaped labour law enforcement practices, focusing particularly on the 19th and early 20th centuries. This might include topics such as:
• the shape and form of occupational health and safety regimes and their
enforcement;
• ideas on the regulation of the working day and how to ensure compliance;
• methods and models of direct action, for example strikes, to enforce labour
standards;
• the shape and form of dispute resolution models such as conciliation and
arbitration;
• the development of labour inspectorates as state-based institutions designed to
monitor and enforce compliance with the law.
This list is not exhaustive and we are open to other topics which fit within the general theme of the workshop.

We are particularly interested in how ideas about labour law enforcement circulated internationally within networks and organisations hitherto under-explored in the literature (such as the International Association for the Legal Protection of Labour/Labour Legislation, and the International Association of Factory Inspectors) before or during the process of the crystallisation of national labour law systems. The focus of the call for papers is on the foundation phase of modern labour law’s development rather than on a set temporal period, recognising that foundation may have happened at different times in different countries.

Interested contributors should submit an abstract of 300-500 words to Johanna Wolf (wolf@lhlt.mpg.de) by 14 March 2025.

The selection of workshop contributions will be done by the scientific organizers primarily on the basis of the submitted abstracts. The abstract must indicate the specific contribution of the paper to the overall workshop topic. Applicants will be informed of the results of the selection process within four weeks of the submission. They should prepare a written draft paper for circulation in advance of the workshop.

Practical information:
The workshop will be held at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow on 11-12 September 2025. The aim is to meet in person. There will be no conference fee and catering will be provided for all participants. Financial support for travel and accommodation is available.

Questions about the conference can be directed to the organizers:
Johanna Wolf (wolf@lhlt.mpg.de)
John Howe (j.howe@unimelb.edu.au)
Rebecca Zahn (Rebecca.zahn@strath.ac.uk)

Liverpool University Press is pleased to inform you of the latest content in HISTORICAL STUDIES IN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS (HSIR), a highly regarded publication that is essential reading for those working in and researching historical work in the field of industrial relations and the history of industrial relations thought.

Volume 45 includes articles on state containment and coercion of the National Unemployed Workers’ Movement, 1921–39, as well as a piece on Nancy Seear and the investigation of women’s employment, alongside research on the British Labour Movement’s involvement in West Indian labour struggles, 1934–39. Other essays include work on union leadership, mobilization and decision-making in a prolonged strike, as well as a piece on the founding and early development of the Modern Records Centre.

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Table of contents

Research Articles

Smashing the Subversive Unemployed: State Containment and Coercion of the National Unemployed Workers’ Movement, 1921–39

Emanuel Bourges Espinosa

 

Nancy Seear and the Investigation of Women’s Employment

Susan Milner

 

The British Labour Movement’s Involvement in West Indian Labour Struggles, 1934–39: Revolutionaries and Reformers

Roger Seifert

 

Union Leadership, Mobilization and Decision-Making in a Prolonged Strike

Kathryn Steel

 

For Research Purposes and for Posterity: The Founding and Early Development of the Modern Records Centre

Pierre Botcherby

 

Document

Picketing in the Hire and Reward Haulage Strike in the Winter of Discontent. Introduction to Fred Beach, ‘Reflections on the Hire and Reward Strike in Hull, January–February 1979’

Paul Smith

 

Reflections on the Hire and Reward Strike in Hull, January–February 1979

Fred Beach

 

Review Essay

Motive and Method in the Re-Making of the Mineworkers’ Strike, 1984–85

Huw Beynon

 

Book Review

Ruth Dukes and Wolfgang Streeck, Democracy at Work: Contract, Status and Post-Industrial Justice

Miguel Martínez Lucio

 

Abstracts

Abstracts

 

by Jean-Numa Ducange

https://www.puf.com/les-marxismes

Parmi les grands courants de pensée de l’histoire contemporaine, le marxisme occupe une place à part. Né après la mort de Karl Marx dans le contexte de développement des partis ouvriers, il est devenu l’une des idéologies les plus influentes du XXe siècle, revendiquée par des régimes politiques et de nombreux intellectuels de sensibilités diverses.

Tour à tour, Jean-Numa Ducange expose les principes fondamentaux du marxisme, puis il présente ses multiples déclinaisons au XXe siècle, depuis sa version stalinienne la plus rigide jusqu’aux nombreux courants critiques qu’il nourrit intellectuellement pendant des décennies. Enfin, il rend compte de l’éclatement en « mille marxismes » après la chute du mur de Berlin, soit la période de son incontestable déclin, contrebalancé toutefois par quelques renouveaux récents dans le contexte de la crise du capitalisme.

 

Introduction

Chapitre premier – L’invention du marxisme I. Le marxisme après Marx : le laboratoire allemand II. Comprendre les mécanismes du capitalisme et le critiquer III. Le marxisme, une philosophie IV. Le marxisme, une politique révolutionnaire ?

V. Un objectif : structurer le parti

VI. Géographies du marxisme

VII. Le « révisionnisme » marxiste

Chapitre II – Les courants marxistes au XXe siècle I. De la révolution de 1917 au « marxisme-léninisme » (1920 1930) II. Les critiques du dogme : des marxistes contre le stalinisme (années 1920 1940) III. Les années 1950 1970 : l’apogée paradoxal IV. Des marxistes critiques, mais sans rupture avec les partis communistes « officiels » V. De nouveaux modèles marxistes : de Belgrade à Pékin en passant par Tirana VI. Les sociaux-démocrates et le marxisme (1920 1970) VII. De la droite aux religions monothéistes : des appropriations multiples

Chapitre III – De la « crise du marxisme » aux « mille marxismes » I. La « crise du marxisme » II. Le regain international : la place décisive du monde anglophone III. Persistances et éclatements en Europe IV. Marx dans le « Sud global », du Brésil à la Chine

Conclusion

Bibliographie

Autour de l'auteur

Jean-Numa Ducange est professeur en histoire contemporaine à l’université de Rouen et membre de l’Institut universitaire de France. Codirecteur de la revue Actuel Marx (Puf), il est l’auteur de nombreux ouvrages sur le socialisme, traduits en plusieurs langues.

 

Sommaire:  

·     Michel Pigenet, Éditorial. Les villes portuaires en question

·     Table ronde : Tours d’horizon, avec John Barzman, Marie-Laure Griffaton et Françoise Péron, animée par Michel Pigenet

·     Eduard Page Campos et Jordi Ibarz : Le dos tourné à la mer : la relation entre Barcelone et son port au XIXe siècle

·     Joe Redmayne : Idéologies, mobilisations ouvrières et usages de l’espace dans la ville portuaire de South Shields (Angleterre, 1914-1922)

·     Prerna Agarwal : Vers une histoire de Calcutta comme ville portuaire

·     Fabien Bartolotti et Céline Regnard : Marseille, quelle identité portuaire à l’époque contemporaine ?

·     Claire Flécher : Les ports vus du bord

 

https://sfhu.hypotheses.org/11924

by Nihat Öztürk, Nuria Cafaro, Bernd Hüttner, Florian Weis

Die migrantischen Kämpfe für menschenwürdige Arbeitsbedingungen und gerechte Entlohnung sind zugleich ein mutiger Kampf gegen die Zumutungen des Kapitalismus und des Rassismus seit Beginn der 1960er-Jahre. Ein Höhepunkt dieser Kämpfe war eine Serie von Migrantenstreiks im Sommer 1973.
Im Bewusstsein der politischen Linken und der migrantischen Gewerkschafter*innen sind diese Streiks als Wendepunkte des Widerstands gegen Ausbeutung und rassistische Strukturen tief verankert. Insofern sind die spontanen Streiks der Migrant*innen im Sommer 1973 mehr als nur historische Ereignisse – sie sind Symbole des Kampfes um Gerechtigkeit, Solidarität und Würde. Diese Kämpfe haben die Arbeitswelt verändert und unser Verständnis von Zusammenhalt und Widerstand in einer Gesellschaft geprägt, die leider allzu oft eher spaltet als solidarisch vereint. Deshalb sind diese Kämpfe ein Mahnmal, aber auch eine Quelle der Inspiration für die kommenden Generationen.
Zweifellos haben diese spontanen Streiks gegen die kapitalistische Ausbeutung die Gewerkschaften enorm gestärkt. Es waren die spontanen Streikwellen seit Anfang der 1960er-Jahre und verstärkt im Sommer 1973, die die Gewerkschaften dazu veranlassten, die Humanisierung der Arbeitswelt, die Abschaffung der frauendiskriminierenden Niedriglohngruppen, die Verlängerung des tariflichen Urlaubs und die Verkürzung der Wochenarbeitszeit flächendeckend durchzusetzen.
Der Sammelband diskutiert und würdigt migrantische Kämpfe aus einer kapitalismuskritischen, antirassistischen oder radikaldemokratischen Perspektive. Die Erinnerung an migrantische Kämpfe dient sowohl der historischen Würdigung der am Streik beteiligten Arbeiter*innen als auch der Ermutigung für eine solidarische Praxis, die gerade in Zeiten der Prekarisierung und Segmentierung von Arbeits- und Lebenswelten geboten ist.

https://diebuchmacherei.de/produkt/der-streik-hat-mir-geholfen-als-jung…

Chères et chers collègues,

J'ai le plaisir de vous informer de la parution du dernier n° de la revue d'histoire Le Mouvement social comportant le dossier "Identités portuaires" susceptible de retenir votre attention et dont j'ai assuré la direction.
Bien cordialement.

Dear colleagues,

I am pleased to inform you of the publication of the latest issue of the history review Le Mouvement social including the file "Port Identities" likely to attract your attention and of which I was responsible for the direction.

Kind regards.

Michel Pigenet

Sommaire

• Michel Pigenet, Éditorial. Les villes portuaires en question
• Table ronde : Tours d’horizon, avec John Barzman, Marie-Laure Griffaton et Françoise Péron, animée par Michel Pigenet
• Eduard Page Campos et Jordi Ibarz : Le dos tourné à la mer : la relation entre Barcelone et son port au XIXe siècle
• Joe Redmayne : Idéologies, mobilisations ouvrières et usages de l’espace dans la ville portuaire de South Shields (Angleterre, 1914-1922)
• Prerna Agarwal : Vers une histoire de Calcutta comme ville portuaire
• Fabien Bartolotti et Céline Regnard : Marseille, quelle identité portuaire à l’époque contemporaine ?
• Claire Flécher : Les ports vus du bord

Acheter le numéro du Mouvement social chez CAIRN-Info

First Edition: Conceptual Change

22–26 September 2025, Warsaw

The Asynchronous Histories Summer School aims to explore regions and moments in history marked by the coexistence of asynchronous sociopolitical tendencies and processes. These conditions often reveal paradoxical outcomes when seemingly well-established actors and mechanisms are put into practice. The absence—or inefficiency—of “The Great Synchronizer,” whether imperial order, centralized state apparatus, or the power of capital, has, in various periods and regions, created fertile grounds for blending the old and the new in unequal and unexpected ways.

Rather than viewing this coexistence of asynchronicities as a static phenomenon, we understand it as a dynamic and intricate process. In such situations, old forms may act as tools paving the way for new developments, while new forms may consolidate old arrangements, laws, and privileges. This interplay also triggers epistemological challenges, as research tools developed in global centres often fail to yield productive results when applied to these complex settings. This is why it is both challenging and indispensable to abandon normative definitions of phenomena and states of affairs in favour of listening to local actors, whose diversity ultimately calls into question apparently universal models and descriptions of reality—models that, in practice, are deeply rooted in Western centres.

In the first edition of the Asynchronous Histories Summer School, we seek to stimulate reflection on the theme of conceptual change, broadly understood. Our goal is to examine how concepts, ideas, and ideologies evolve amidst the coexistence of asynchronicities. We aim to move beyond binary perspectives, such as portraying given actors as never-fully-Western imitators or as guardians of domestic traditions. Instead, we propose thinking outside such frameworks, exploring the diverse intellectual stakes pursued by actors in the world’s “grey zones.”

Exemplary areas of inquiry include:

1. Western ideologies in non-Western settings.
2. Domestic political terminologies and procedures.
3. Christian ideas in non-Christian worlds.
4. Non-institutionalized areas of intellectual debate.
5. Transfers as resistance; transfers as domination.
6. Unrealized potentials, repressed imaginaries, and projects halted midway.
7. Local academic traditions in the history of ideas or philosophy.

Confirmed Lecturers

Among the distinguished lecturers for the first edition are:

• László Kontler (Central European University)
• Franz Fillafer (Austrian Academy of Sciences)
• Augusta Dimou (University of Leipzig)
• Waldemar Bulira (University of Maria Curie-Skłodowska in Lublin)
• Jan Surman (Academy of the Sciences of the Czech Republic)
• Elías José Palti (University of Buenos Aires; National University of Quilmes)
• Olena Palko (University of Basel)
• Banu Turnaoglu (Sabancı University)
• Maciej Janowski (Tadeusz Manteuffel Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences)
• Jani Marjanen (University of Helsinki)

Organizing Institutions

Institute of Applied Social Sciences, University of Warsaw

in partnership with

Tadeusz Manteuffel Institute of History, Polish Academy of Sciences

The History of Concepts Group

Organizing Comittee

Anna Gulińska, Bartłomiej Błesznowski, Jan Krakowian, Piotr Kuligowski

Eligibility and Application

We welcome submissions from PhD students. Advanced MA students and early career postdocs (up to two years post-defence) are also encouraged to apply.

How to Apply

Please submit the following materials by May 31, 2025:

• A short CV (maximum two pages).
• A concise description of your research interests (up to 1,000 words).

Send your application to ahss.warsaw[at]gmail.com

Participation Fee

The participation fee is 150 EUR. In justified cases, this fee may be reduced.

Cagliari/Italy from 16 to 17 October 2025

The conference on ‘The press of political exiles in the Mediterranean (19th-20th centuries) : a practice of resistance’ will look at the periodicals produced by political exiles and refugees in the Mediterranean area, and more specifically in maritime and port cities, where this press had been published and circulated internationally.

Argument

Exile became an integral part of the repertoire of political action in both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. As a special category of immigration, exile implies the political nature of the departure from the country of origin. From the ordinary use of the term ‘exile’ to the definition of the legal category of refugee adopted by the International Geneva Convention in 1951, as ‘a person with a well-founded fear of being persecuted and not merely the victim of persecution’[1], the deployment of political activities directed towards the country of origin and challenging the legitimacy of the regime or government in place in order to promote a major transformation or the elimination of the latter, is a fundamental dimension of the experience of political exile[2] .

From the exiles of the Napoleonic Wars to the exiles of the Paris Commune, from the Russian exiles of the inter-war period to the exiles of dictatorships in Southern Europe, from the persecuted exiles of dictatorial regimes in South America (Argentina, Chile) to the dissidents of the Cold War, from the exiles of the colonial and/or neo-colonial order to the anti-fascist exiles of the 1920s and 1930s, the Mediterranean is at the heart of these movements, as it often represented a refuge for these exiles. In the context of « exopolitie »[3], the publication of periodicals (newspapers, magazines, newsletters) by exiles is one of the ways in which they express their opposition to the political regime in place in their country of origin..

The conference on ‘The press of political exiles in the Mediterranean (19th-20th centuries) : a practice of resistance’ will look at the periodicals produced by political exiles and refugees in the Mediterranean area, and more specifically in maritime and port cities, where this press had been published and circulated internationally. Apart from the diversity of the ideological orientations of the editors, but also the political situations in their countries of origin, linguistic practices vary as well between titles appearing in the official language of the country of exile and those published in another language. This allophone corpus, which brings together publications in languages other than those established/recognised as official and/or minority ones in the area where they are published, occupies a special place in the study of the phenomenon of political exile.

Among the areas of research proposed for papers at this conference are :

• mapping the editorial landscape of the exile press

• study the different types of publications

• map out the careers of the main contributors (publishers, authors, printers, etc.)

• explore the networks that have supported them and the relationships established between the various publishing initiatives

• see how this press contributes to the creation of categories of exile and political exile

• examine the role of this press in the general movement of people and ideas, the cultural transfers to which they have given rise, and the resulting mixed identities

• contribute to understanding the strategies of those involved in promoting ideological and aesthetic prerogatives

• assess the influence of this press in the countries of origin of their publishers and readers (cultural, political influence, etc.)

Submission Guidlines

If you would like to take part in this conference, please send your proposal in French or English, of 250-300 words maximum, followed by a brief bio-bibliographical presentation,  to the following addresses : alessandra.marchi@unica.it and nicolas.pitsos@bulac.fr .

before 15 April 2025

The working languages of the meeting will be English and French.

Organisation Committee

Marchi Alessandra (Université de Cagliari)

Pitsos Nicolas (CHCSC/Paris-Saclay)

Scientific Committee

• Cooper-Richet Diana (CHCSC/Université Paris-Saclay)
• Felici Isabelle (Université de Montpellier) 
• Finzi Silvia (Université de Tunis/Institut italien Dante Alighieri, Tunis)
• Manduchi Patrizia (Université de Cagliari)
• Marchi Alessandra (Université de Cagliari)
• Martelliere Marie-Delphine (Centre d’études alexandrines)
• Michailidis Iakovos (Université Aristote de Thessalonique) 
• Paonessa Costantino (Université de Bologna)
• Pitsos Nicolas (CHCSC/Université Paris-Saclay)
• Rondinelli Francesca (Université Grenoble Alpes)
• Ruiz Acosta Maria José (Université de Séville)
• Servant Catherine (CREE/Inalco)
• Stead Evanghelia (CHCSC/Université Paris-Saclay)
• Toumarkine Alexandre (CREE/Inalco)

Notes

[1] Delphine Diaz, Un asile pour tous les peuples, Paris, Armand Colin 2014.

[2] Stéphane Dufoix, « La communauté politique des exilés, une nation hors l’État », Hommes et migrations, 2005, n°125, pp. 6-14.

[3]A term coined by Stéphane Dufoix to describe the political space formed by relations of alliance or opposition between groups or individuals engaged in a political struggle against the regime in place in their country of origin.

9-10 October 2025, University of Fribourg (Switzerland)

This conference aims to bring together researchers working on transnational aspects of the history of the extreme right after 1945 and provide a new impetus for fostering closer cooperation and exchange between researchers and projects in Europe and beyond. Adopting an actor-centred perspective, it will explore cross-border networks and contacts, the circulation of media products, and the exchange of ideas and thoughts, aesthetics and lifestyles, mobilisation strategies and organisational forms. While the primary focus is on the second half of the 20th century, contributions examining longer historical continuities are also welcome.

For a long time, historians showed limited interest in studying the history of the extreme right after 1945. In recent years, however, there has been a significant upsurge in the research on this topic. The rise of extreme-right movements and political parties has spurred numerous research projects, especially in Germany. These projects explore not only the aftermath of National Socialism, but also the emergence of a so-called New Right within the framework of democratic societies. Similar research initiatives have also gained momentum in countries such as France, Italy, Austria, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland, reflecting the growing influence of the extreme right across Europe. Despite these shared research interests, collaboration between German-speaking scholars and their European colleagues remains sporadic and limited to occasional projects.

Against this background, the international conference “The Extreme Right Transnational. Towards a New Post-War History” aims to provide a new impetus for fostering closer cooperation and exchange between researchers and projects in Europe and beyond. This conference will also introduce the mainly German-language research network “Contemporary History Working Group on the Extreme Right” (Zeithistorischer Arbeitskreis extreme Rechte– ZAER) to the European research community. Founded in 2019, the working group organises – among other activities – annual conferences on the post-war history of the extreme right and is therefore a partner of this conference.

The conference will examine the transnational dimensions and dynamics of the extreme right after 1945 by adopting an actor-centred perspective. It will explore cross-border networks and contacts, the circulation of media products, and the exchange of ideas and thoughts, aesthetics and lifestyles, mobilisation strategies and organisational forms. Notable historical examples include the 1951 Malmö Conference that was organised by the European Social Movement and sought to unite the extreme right at the European level, or the efforts of rightwing media such as Nation Europa to promote extreme-right visions of Europe. Moreover, ideological entrepreneurs, such as the U.S. neo-Nazi George Lincoln Rockwell, worked hard to revive transatlantic extreme-right exchanges. From the 1970s onwards, new projects and initiatives emerged, including the French Nouvelle Droite, which fostered intellectual networks through meetings organised by the Groupement de Recherche et d’Études pour la Civilisation Européenne (GRECE), by the right-wing ecological World Union for Protection of Life, which organised protests against nuclear power plants, and the very active transnational Holocaustdenial movement. During this period, extreme-right activists also travelled to South Africa, Spain and Portugal to demonstrate their support for authoritarian regimes. 

The dynamics of transnational exchange developed further with the rise of extreme rightwing youth subcultures such as skinheads, autonomous nationalists, and certain music scenes. The advent of the internet in the 1990s brought a new level of global connectivity, exemplified by platforms such as Stormfront or Thule-Netz, which facilitated real-time networking and accelerated the spread of extreme-right ideologies. With the emergence of social media, this connectivity has only deepened, transforming how extreme-right actors organise and communicate on a global scale. By analysing these transnational connections and exchanges, we not only gain deeper insights into the formation of the extreme right after 1945, but also seek to develop a new approach to post-war history – one that views the extreme right in Europe and North America not as an exception, but from the outset, as a significant actor.

This conference aims to bring together researchers working on the transnational aspects of the extreme right. While the primary focus is on the second half of the 20th century, contributions examining longer historical continuities are also welcome. We would like to invite historians and interdisciplinary researchers that engage with historical perspectives to submit presentation proposals that address one or more of the following thematic areas:

1.  Transnational Protagonists

Who were the key figures driving the transnational networking of the extreme right? How did they establish themselves in their roles as organisers, mediators, or translators? What role did factors such as access to travel, foreign language skills, and financial resources play in enabling their activities? Did these protagonists confine themselves to the role of intellectuals and ideologues, or were they also involved in violent, criminal, or even terrorist activities?

2.  Networks, Meetings, and Informal Connections

Which transnational connections, networks, and alliances were cultivated by extreme rightwing groups? How important were international meetings, conferences, and symposia in fostering these relationships? To what extent did informal working groups and personal friendships shape their cooperation? What common goals, ideals, or fears motivated cooperation? Conversely, what conflicts arose from ideological differences, cultural disparities, or personal rivalries?

3.  Media and Communication Channels

What role did media such as magazines, pamphlets, books, and later the internet play in facilitating communication and fostering networks among the extreme right? How were ideologies selected, adapted, and hybridised through transnational exchanges? What impact did translation into other languages have on the dissemination and reinterpretation of their ideas? How did these transfers shape the visual style and design of the media?

4.  Social Movements

What forms of action did extreme right-wing actors choose to combine their protest with rightwing ideology? Has violence been part of their repertoire of action? And if so, what function did it have for the movement? Why and how did extreme right-wing actors engage with other transnational social movements, such as the anti-nuclear, environmental, alternative, or peace movements? What strategies did they use to influence these movements, and how did other actors respond to their involvement?

5.  Youth Cultures, Leisure Activities, and Music Scenes

How did leisure activities contribute to the transnational networking of extreme right-wing actors? Did shared hobbies and interests serve as a conduit for spreading extreme right-wing ideologies across cultural boundaries? How have youth cultures, leisure practices, and music scenes been reshaped by these transnational exchanges?

In addition to oral presentations, we also invite submissions for poster presentations. Posters should present research in a clear and engaging manner, highlighting key questions, findings, and methodologies. There will be a dedicated session for poster presentations, where each poster will be introduced, followed by time for questions and discussions. The posters will be displayed throughout the conference, providing additional opportunities for informal exchange.

Submission guidlines

Abstracts (max. 3000 characters) and a short CV (max. 1 page) must be submitted by email to conference_transnational2025@unifr.ch

by 1 March 2025.

Please indicate in your submission if you would like to be considered for a poster presentation. The conference language will be English. Travel and accommodation costs will be covered as far as possible.

Organization

The conference is organised by the Department of Contemporary History, University of Fribourg.

Conference organisers: Stefan Rindlisbacher and Damir Skenderovic 

Conference coordination: Maximilian Mosbacher

São Paulo/Brazil from 9-12 December 2025

After the four International Conferences of Anarchist Geographers and Geographies organized in Reggio Emilia (Italy, 2017), Rabastens (France, 2019), Oaxaca (Mexico, 2021) and Córdoba (Argentina, 2023), the fifth will take place in São Paulo (Brazil) on 9-12 December 2025. 

This location is very significant because São Paulo, USP and more generally Brazil, have a tradition of reflection and organization of international conferences on historical figures of anarchist geography. Thus, the International Conferences on Elisée Reclus (2011) and on the centenary of the death of Peter Kropotkin (2021), were organized by the Terra Livre Library with the support of the Department of Geography of the University of São Paulo.

For this fifth edition, we invite you to submit abstracts mainly (but not exclusively) on the following thematic axes:
1. Practices of anarchist struggles and emancipatory spatialities
2. Anarchist pedagogies and other libertarian practices of education
3. Native peoples, black and indigenous movements and the challenges of
decoloniality
4. Environmental collapse and other relations between societies and natures
5. Body-territory. Gender, space and sexuality
6. Counter-cartographies
7. Geographies of abolition: Prisons, borders, states
8. Other histories of geography
9. Other histories and geographies of anarchism
10. Space in class struggles and spaces of class struggles
11. Transnational and internationalist perspectives of anarchist geographies

Important dates
Deadline for abstract submission: Until March 31, 2025, to cigga.icagg@gmail.com
Deadline for response/results of evaluations: April 15, 2025

Guidelines for submitting abstracts:
Include Title | Author | Reference to Activism and/or militancy, academic affiliation if you have | email | abstract (between 200 and 400 words) | References.

Important:
To avoid dispersion on overly generic themes, it is requested to include references to at least two authors from the anarchist camp.

Other presentations
Alternative formats such as theatre presentations, performance or videos are accepted.
Abstracts between 200 and 400 words. In all cases, it is suggested to send abstracts.

Languages: Portuguese | Spanish | English | French

Important: during the event, the translation will be solidary.

Nature of the event: In-person only.

Live streaming: Depending on the availability of the Department of Geography.

Fieldwork: The possibility of environment studies is being considered (for December 13, 2025).

Organizer: Terra Livre Library.

Support (provisional list):
Abolitionist Geographies
Department of Geography – University of São Paulo
AGB-São Paulo
History of Geography Commission-UGI
Aurora Negra Collective

Scientific Committee
Adriano Gonçalves Skoda, University of São Paulo
Álvaro Girón Sierra, CSIC, Barcelona
Anthony Ince, University of Cardiff
António Ferraz de Oliveira, University of Groningen
Breno Viotto Pedrosa, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul
Carla Eleonora Pedrazzani, University of Córdoba
Carlo Romani, UNIRIO
Carolina Paula Ricci, University of Córdoba
Eduardo Donizeti Girotto, University of São Paulo
Eduardo Souza Cunha, University of São Paulo
Emilse Riveros, Sociedad de Resistencia y Oficios Varios – Córdoba
Fábio Betioli Contel, University of São Paulo
Fabrizio Eva, Independent researcher
Federico Ferretti, University of Bologna
Gerónimo Barrera de la Torre, University of Berkeley
Guilherme Ribeiro, UFRRJ
Ivanna Margarucci, University of Taracapá, Chile
José Luis Oyon, Polytechnic University of Catalonia
Júlio César Pereira de Freitas Guató, Indigenous activist
Marcella Schmidt di Friedberg, University of Milano-Bicocca
Marcelo Lopes de Souza, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
Núria Benach Rovira, University of Barcelona
Patrick Minder, University of Fribourg
Perla Zusman, University of Buenos Aires
Philippe Pelletier, University of Lyon 2
Pietro di Paola, University of Lincoln, UK
Richard White, University of Sheffield- Hallam
Rodrigo Rosa da Silva, State University of Londrina
Ruth Kinna, University of Loughborough
Sara Letzen, University of Córdoba
Selva Varengo, Independent researcher
Simon Springer, University of Newcastle, Australia
Valéria de Marcos, University of São Paulo
Valeria Raimondi, University of Bologna

Conference in Odense M/Denmark from 8 to 9 October 2025

The conference will focus on societal and political challenges to postwar societies after World War II. The aim is to discuss how and if former collaborators, refugees, resistance fighters and other groups were reintegrated into societies after the war, and to what extent new ideas and practices of welfare, democratisation and resocialisation in postwar Europe influenced these processes.

From Warfare to Welfare? Resocialisation and Democratisation after World War II

How were former collaborators, displaced refugees, resistance fighters or war veterans reintegrated into societies after 1944/45? Did efforts to reintegrate them pave the way for welfare and democracy?

This international history conference on 8-9 October 2025 seeks to explore the processes of resocialisation and democratisation in postwar Europe.

The conference takes inspiration from ongoing research in Denmark (supported by VELUX FONDEN) at the University of Southern Denmark and three museums, which discusses to what extent authorities after the war tried to integrate German refugees into democratic frameworks and how the resocialisation of convicted collaborators as well as the reintegration of resistance fighters into postwar society was handled.

However, we aim to expand this scope to include broader geographical and historical perspectives.

By bringing together researchers from different disciplines and regions, this history conference seeks to contribute to broader understandings of how societies recover, rebuild, and lay the groundwork for democracy and inclusion in the wake of conflict.

We invite scholars to present their research on related topics in postwar European cases or in transnational comparisons.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
- Strategies for managing and reintegrating collaborators or former combatants.
- Narratives on punishment and resocialisation among convicted collaborators.
- Approaches to refugee resettlement.
- Democratisation of refugees and prisoners of war.
- Ideas of citizenship and welfare after the war.
- Welfare ambitions and ideals among the resistance movements.
- Policies addressing radicalisation and extremism in post-war societies.
- The role of state authorities in fostering reconciliation and citizenship.
- The role of civil society in fostering reconciliation and citizenship.
- Challenges faced by resistance fighters in adapting to peacetime societies.
- Recognition and commemoration: contested narratives and their social and political impact.
- The role of war victims in shaping post-war democratic and social policies.

Submission Details:
Please send proposals for contributions with a 300-word abstract and a brief bio to PHD Henrik Lundtofte, Archives of Danish Occupation History at Museum Vest hl@musvest.dk

Submission deadline is 1 May 2025. Accepted speakers will be notified by 15 June. We welcome submissions from established academics and early career researchers alike. Presentations will be 30 minutes, followed by discussion.

The conference will take place on 8-9 October 2025 at University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark. Attendance and accommodation are free.

We prefer physical participation but are open to online talks as well. Contact: hl@musvest.dk

Kontakt

PhD Henrik Lundtofte hl@musvest.dk

Conference in Pula/Croatia from 18 to 19 September 2025

The series of biennial international conferences Socialism on the Bench have been organised since 2013 by the Centre for Cultural and Historical Research of Socialism (CKPIS), Juraj Dobrila University of Pula, Croatia. Around a hundred participants per conference have been gathering to discuss different main themes. Selections of papers have been published in edited volumes and journals. This time the theme is defined as Global Socialism and Non-Alignment.

7th Socialism on the Bench: Global Socialism and Non-Alignment

The series of biennial international conferences Socialism on the Bench (Socijalizam na klupi) have been organised since 2013 by the Centre for Cultural and Historical Research of Socialism (CKPIS), at the Juraj Dobrila University of Pula. Around a hundred participants per conference have been gathering to discuss different main themes: Cultural and Historical Interpretations of Yugoslav and Post-Yugoslav Societies (2013), Socialism: Construction and Deconstruction (2015), Communists and Communist Parties: Policies, Actions, Debates (2017), Continuities and Innovations (2019), Antifascism (2021), and Crises and Reforms (2023). Selections of papers have been published in edited volumes and journals.

Recent years have been marked by war conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, challenges of the pandemics, shifting roles among global powers and continents, as well as growing migration, social tensions and environmental issues. By focusing on global socialism, the conference seeks to explore the reach of socialist ideas, their impact over the past century and a half, and their relevance to the present day, with particular emphasis on the period from the early 1950s to the late 1980s. This era saw socialism intersect with Cold War dynamics, decolonization and the rise of the Non-Aligned Movement. During this period, socialist ideas and revolutionary movements influenced societies across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. Progress, cooperation, internationalism and peace often coexisted with conflict and competition in political, economic, cultural and other spheres. While maintaining a focus on the discourse and practice of socialism and non-alignment, their histories and legacies, the conference aims to address policies, ideologies, manifestations and actions on the international, national and local levels, both within and beyond the blocs, in Europe and the Global South, from the global stage to individual interactions within societies.

The conference programme will include three keynote speakers:

CHIARA BONFIGLIOLI (Ca' Foscari University of Venice)
TVRTKO JAKOVINA (University of Zagreb)
PAUL STUBBS (The Institute of Economics, Zagreb)

The goal of our conferences, as well as the entire mission of the Centre, remains the same: strengthening the cooperation among scholars with similar research interests, revealing thematic, methodological and theoretical similarities, getting to know different interpretations, enhancing dialogue and new research.

The conference languages are Croatian (and mutually understandable languages) and English. Participants’ presentation time is 15 minutes. We accept individual applications, but it is possible to indicate the desire to participate in a specific panel. It is also possible to suggest events like book launches and round tables.

The conference will be held at the Juraj Dobrila University of Pula (Faculty of Humanities, Aldo Negri Street/Negrijeva 6, Pula), and in partnership with the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation SEE. There is no conference fee. Conference organizers will provide a meal per day and arrange a discount at the recommended hotel. Participants will have to arrange and cover their own trip and accommodation.

APPLICATION DEADLINE IS APRIL 1, 2025. By April 30, applicants will be notified about the acceptance of their proposal. For more information and the application form, please visit the conference website

https://www.unipu.hr/ckpis/en/socialism_on_the_bench/2025, or contact us at ckpis.conf@gmail.com.

Programm

Application process is open until April 1. Full programme will be available by June 30, and will include three keynotes and at least 65 participants. The programme starts on September 18 at noon and ends on September 20 early afternoon.

Kontakt

ckpis.conf@gmail.com

https://www.unipu.hr/ckpis/en/socialism_on_the_bench/2025

Discover Global Society: Special Issue on Transnational Pop Culture and Work

Guest Editors

• Professor Anja Louis, Sheffield Creative Industries Institute, Sheffield Hallam University, UK
• Dr Will Kitchen, Department of Creative Industries, University of Chichester / Bournemouth Film School, Arts University Bournemouth, UK

Deadline for Full Chapter Submissions: 30th August 2025

This topical issue of Discover Global Society aims to explore the intersections of popular culture and labour across national boundaries, examining how global flows of media, film, music, literature, video games, fashion, and other cultural forms influence, and are influenced by, work practices, identities, and economies. Cultural products play a vital role in establishing, maintaining and transforming our shared experiences of labour – both the forms of behaviour that we adopt during working and leisure hours, as well as the values that determine our vocational choices, training, expectations and relationships. 

This special issue aims to compile a global dossier of interdisciplinary critical analysis to illuminate and challenge how the cultural metaphysics of modern labour are disseminated and negotiated by various forms of art, entertainment and community production. 

Topics of Interest:

We invite submissions that address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• Global perspectives on the values of labour (i.e., the culturally constructed and ideologically determined meaning of 'success', 'creativity', 'skill', etc.)
• Global perspectives on pop culture, wealth and social mobility
• Sustainable cultural production in a global context
• Global perspectives on leadership and pop culture
• Global perspectives on craft and craftsmanship in pop culture
• Financial and economic themes in pop culture production
• The relationship between popular culture, labour, AI technology and other forms of automation 
• The relationship between global pop cultures, work and gender
• The impact of transnational media on local labour markets and work cultures
• The role of pop culture in shaping transnational labour identities
• Case studies of specific cultural industries (e.g., film, music, fashion) and their global labour dynamics
• The influence of digital platforms on transnational work and cultural production
• Comparative studies of pop culture and work in different regions
• Theoretical approaches to understanding the relationship between pop culture and labour in a global context

Submission Guidelines

• Full chapters of between 6,000-8,000 words should be submitted via the Journal’s submission portal, along with a 250 word abstract and brief cover letter: https://link.springer.com/collections/ahbhaibhbi
• All submissions must follow the Journal’s formatting guidelines, which can be found here: https://link.springer.com/journal/44282
• Please note that the referencing style is National Library of Medicine; further details can be found here: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html

If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch with the Guest Editors at a.louis@shu.ac.uk and wkitchen@aub.ac.uk with the subject line “Special Issue Submission: Transnational Pop Culture and Work.”

IMPORTANT NOTE

All articles published by Discover Global Society are freely and permanently accessible online without subscription charges. However, please be advised that Authors are required to pay an Article Processing Charge (APC). We therefore strongly advise publication via research funding, and encourage authors – particularly early-career and precariously employed academics – to explore the options below: 

Springer Nature offers agreements that enable institutions to cover APCs and other open access publishing costs. For more information, please visit: https://link.springer.com/journal/44282/how-to-publish-with-us.

For a list of the 350 global funding organizations that can help cover the APC, visit: https://www.springernature.com/gp/open-science/funding.

For information about fee waivers and discounts for scholars from particular global regions, please visit: https://www.springernature.com/gp/open-science/policies/journal-policies/apc-waiver-countries.

The Guest Editors do not personally receive any financial remuneration from Springer Nature.

Contact Information

Please submit articles via the link: https://link.springer.com/collections/ahbhaibhbi

Professor Anja Louis, Sheffield Hallam University, UK

Dr Will Kitchen, University of Chichester / Arts University Bournemouth, UK

Contact Email wkitchen@aub.ac.uk