European Studies Centre, St Antony's College, Oxford University in
partnership with the Centre for Global History and the African Studies
Centre, Oxford
28.10.2016-29.10.2016, European Studies Centre, St Antony's College, Oxford University
Recent years have witnessed renewed interest in international and
transnational history across the discipline, as the "global turn" in
contemporary history writing has recast the field of international
relations from a variety of fresh perspectives. Yet there are still key
areas of inquiry that remain remarkably under-explored. New
transnational histories of the Cold War, for example, have concentrated
on the relationship between the so-called First and Third Worlds, or
focused on countries in the 'Global South'. Such Cold War histories have
addressedprimarily geo-political concerns. Scant consideration has been
given to the historical traffic, cultural transfer and personal
exchanges between the 'Second' and 'Third World', and in particular
between Eastern Europe and Africa. This is unfortunate, given that
international socialism took on new meanings in the context of such Cold
War contacts, and Eastern Europe and Africa engaged in a great deal of
exchange in the decades after World War II, in a wide range of economic,
political, cultural and military relations.
These exchanges occurred not only between those of a socialist
orientation, but also between groups of distinct ideological hues -
potentially shedding new light on the complex interplay between the
globalising forces of the late Cold War. This conference is designed to
address this forgotten interface of international exchange and
knowledge-production during the Cold War. The conference aims not only
to explore the post-colonial encounter between socialist Eastern Europe
and socialist Africa, but also to investigate how this exchange between
the Soviet Union/Eastern Europe and Africa contributes to the story of
the rise and fall of socialist globalization. Select themes for the
conference would include:
- Education, Science and Technology
- Trade and Development
- Labour and Migration
- Race and Culture
- War and Military Assistance.
- Trade and Development
- Labour and Migration
- Race and Culture
- War and Military Assistance.
The two-day workshop is envisaged as a unique opportunity for
Eastern Europeanists and Africanists to come together to share their
research and ideas, and to think about this rich yet long-overlooked
aspect of Cold War history from a broader inter-regional perspective. We
are particularly keen to showcase the work of younger scholars in the
field, but the call for papers is open to everyone working in this area.
Abstracts must be sent to the convenors by January 15, 2016: Paul Betts [paul.betts@history.ox.ac.uk) and Miles Larmer (miles.larmer@history.ox.ac.uk), St Antony's College.
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