1968 and the Third World

An international forum in Istanbul, 18-19 Dec

The Actuality and Historical Significance of 1968 for the Third World
An International Forum at the Koç University (Istanbul, Turkey) December 18-19, 2008

As Hobsbawm points out, the history represents the unity of the past, present and future, therefore both of these time periods constitute a continuum. Accordingly, history should contribute to the exploration of the present and future, as well as the past. The discussions about the actuality and historical significance of the 68 Movements would be developed on this basis. Thus, in the 40th year of the movements, it would be meaningful to interdisciplinarily and critically meditate on the socio-economic and political conditions that had given birth to the movements, their intellectual sources, and their evolution over time, in order to better understand the present and explore the future of the humanity.

We invite you to send 250-300 word proposals for 20-30 minute papers on a range of topics related to the actuality and historical significance of 1968. We encourage interisciplinary papers containing case studies and comparative analysis challenging Western-centric perspectives, and welcome papers on topics including but not limited to:

  • The Actuality of 1968
  • The Historical Significance of 1968
  • The Legacy of 1968
  • 1968 in the Third World
  • China and 1968
  • Middle Eastern, South American, Asian and African experiences
  • Impact of the Thirld World Movements on the European Movements and Vice Versa
  • The Third World, Marxism and Nationalism before and after 1968
  • Comparative Analysis of 68 Movements in Europe and the Thirld World
  • Critique of 1968 and movements that had emerged after 1968
  • Imperialism and 1968
  • Peasantry and 1968
  • Today's South America and Tomorrow's 1968

Deadline for submission of paper proposal: October 27, 2008
The organizers plan to publish a selection of the papers presented at the conference. Texts should be between 6,000 and 10,000 words inclusive of notes and bibliography. They should be prepared according the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Edition.
Deadline for paper submission: February 02, 2009
Panel and Paper Proposals can be submitted by email or mail to: Efe Can Gürcan, [mailto]egurcan@ku.edu.tr[/mailto]
The Center for Research on Globalization and Democratic Governance (GLODEM), Koç University, [mailto]home.ku.edu.tr/~glodem[/mailto], Koç University, Rumelifeneri Yolu, 34450, Sariyer, Istanbul, Turkey.

The organisers are:
Efe Can Gürcan (GLODEM)
Prof. Fuat Keyman (Coordinator of GLODEM) DEKON Congress & Tourism ([url]http://www.dekon.com.tr[/url])