Marking 80 years since the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, this two day international conference will explore the origins and experiences of transnational mobilisation during the conflict and the immediate post war period. It will bring together researchers working on military, medical, humanitarian and cultural aspects of mobilisation both inside and outside Spain.
The Spanish Civil War mobilised large sections of civilian populations, including political and humanitarian organisations. The war gave rise to a wide range of transnational collaborations, in some cases building on existing networks but in others serving as a springboard for new initiatives. Much of the existing historiography has explored the diplomatic dimension of the conflict and international military intervention on both sides. This conference aims to offer new perspectives by focusing on informal networks, border crossings, transmissions of ideas and cultural responses to these forms of mobilisation within Spain.
We invite proposals for papers on any topic relating to military, political, medical, humanitarian or cultural mobilisation during the conflict and the immediate post-war years. Potential themes include, but are not limited to:
- Different forms and experiences of transnational mobilisation in all areas of Spain.
- Geographical, ideological and cultural borders and border-crossing, between Spain and its neighbours, across the Spanish peninsular divided by war, and between Spanish regions.
- Networks, organisations and relationships that facilitated transnational mobilisation, and how they adapted to, or were affected by, the conflict and the consolidation of the Franco regime.
- Transnational life trajectories affected by the civil war.
- Spanish responses to transnational mobilisation and encounters with foreign participants.
- Communication and (mis)understanding in transnational encounters.
- Transnational mobilisation as a subject in culture and propaganda in Spain during the civil war and the post-war period.
- Power and unequal power relations in transnational mobilisation.
- The legacy of transnational mobilisation after the end of the war, including the post-war trajectories of individuals involved, the impact on future conflicts, and its effect on future patterns of migration and exchange.
- The memory of transnational mobilisation in the post-war era, both inside and outside Spain.
The conference will take place on 30 June and 1 July 2016 at Birkbeck College in London. The deadline for proposals is 30 November 2015. Abstracts of no more than 200 words should be sent to crossingbordersconference2016@gmail.com, together with a brief biography (50 words). Decisions will be made by 31 December 2015.
http://www.crossingbordersconference2016.wordpress.com