CfP: Memory, Identity and the Holocaust New Studies and Methodological Problems, Warsaw, 20-21 September

: 27 March 2018

We're inviting paper proposal for international conference "Memory, Identity and the Holocaust. New Studies and Methodological Problems", Warsaw, 20-21 September 2018.

During this two-day conference we will discuss the links and connections between studying social identity, memory, and the history of the Holocaust, as well as the qualitative methods frequently used in these fields of research, particularly biographical and in-depth interviews. While studies devoted to these topics are often a source of inspiration for other researchers, their very interdisciplinary character means that there are few occasions for personal meetings and exchange of research experiences. The aim of our conference is to address this need. By creating an opportunity to present new studies and discuss methodological problems in a group of scholars whose work focuses on such themes, we hope to reflect on our research topics from a broader perspective.

The three main thematic clusters of the conference draw their inspiration from the work of professor Małgorzata Melchior, a long-time researcher at the Institute of Applied Social Sciences, University of Warsaw, and the Polish Centre for Holocaust Research at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Author of several monographs and articles that remain significant reference points for those interested in the sociology of identity, the history of the Holocaust, memory studies, and methods of biographical interviewing, professor Melchior has also been a mentor and supervisor for many young researchers. By organizing this conference we would like to thank her for many years of inspiration and to reassess and further explore the topics analyzed in her articles and important monographs: Społeczna tożsamość jednostki [The Social Identity of Individual] (1990) and Zagłada i tożsamość [Holocaust and Identity] (2004).

We invite papers related to the following topics:

- biographical and social memory,

- the social identity of individuals and group identities,

- the Holocaust: historiography, memory and the politics of memory,

- qualitative methodology and biographical interview as tools for studying identity, memory and the Holocaust.

Please send an abstract (max 1800 signs / 300 words) and CV before 30 April 2018 to the following addresses: awylegala@ifispan.waw.pl and l.mikolajewski@uw.edu.pl.

The two languages of the conference are Polish and English (without simultaneous translation).

We will confirm whether papers have been accepted before 15 May 2018.

Organizers of the conference: POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, the Institute of Applied Social Sciences of the University of Warsaw (ISNS UW), The Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IFiS PAN) and The Centre for Holocaust Research of the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

The Organization Committee: Dominik Czapigo, Łukasz Mikołajewski, Karolina Panz, Anna Wylegała