Call for Papers:

German Historical Institute, Washington DC
in collaboration with the graduate school "Generations in Modern History",
University of Göttingen, Germany

History by Generations. Generational Dynamics in Modern History.

Dec. 9-11, 2010, Washington DC, German Historical Institute.

Conveners: Hartmut Berghoff (GHI), Bernd Weisbrod (Göttingen), Uffa
Jensen (Göttingen), Christina Lubinski (GHI)

Abstract:
The concept of generations figures prominently in both popular culture and
historical studies. New departures in politics, culture, and economics are
often associated with a specific generational group. This applies to
youthful (and male) activists who seem to share some extraordinary
experience as well as similar political ideas, social habits and cultural
practices and who manage to stand in for the cultural hegemony of their
views. It also includes distinctions based on generational affiliations,
which feature prominently in media, consumer culture, migration, and
everyday-life. Much of post-war German history, for example, has been
explained by the succession of the 45ers, the 68ers, and the 89ers. The
concept of generations is similarly prominent in American public discourse,
as evidenced by the prevalence of catchphrases like the "greatest
generation," "the baby boomer generation," and "generation X." As an
analytical category, the concept of generations has played an important part
in immigration studies; the distinction between first- and later generation
immigrants is central to the field. Now that the importance of the
categories gender, race, and ethnicity has been clearly established in the
social sciences and humanities, it is worth asking how far the concept of
generations cuts across those categories. The graduate program on
Generations in Modern History at the University of Göttingen has begun a
critical investigation of the assumptions that lie behind the concept of
generations and the definition of generational dynamics. It is giving
particular attention to ³generation building² and the mobilization of
"generational meaning," be it in political conflicts and ³culture wars² or
at critical historical junctures. To explore the issues raised by the
concept of generations in transatlantic perspective, the Generations in
Modern History program and the German Historical Institute are jointly
organizing the conference "History by Generations: Generational Dynamics in
Modern History", on Dec. 9.-11. 2010 in Washington DC.

The organizers welcome proposals on topics such as:
1. The role of generational assumptions in the making of cultural identity,
the distribution of economic resources, the orchestration of political
conflicts, and the making of historical tradition
2. The formation of generations and the development of generational
conflicts within social groups, with particular attention to migration and
family socialization.
3. The changing culture of subjectivity and community in educational
patterns and social habitat and their influence on the emergence of a
"generational sense" of experience and self in modern times.
4. The succession of generational styles in different spheres of activity,
such as, for example, popular culture, consumerism, business management, and
product development.
The conference will specifically test the applicability of the concept of
generations in the comparative study of national cultures over time.
Proposals (two pages maximum) are welcome from both young and established
scholars from different countries and disciplines such as history, business
and economic history, sociology, cultural studies, literature and
anthropology. Topics may range over a variety of fields, like memory and
experience, war and migration, management and corporate governance, youth
and counterculture, families and intellectuals, education and consumption.
Proposals should include an abstract of the paper and a curriculum vitae in
English. The proposals should be submitted via email (preferably in pdf
format) by February 26, 2010 to Ms. Baerbel Thomas (thomasghi-dc.org) and
Sandra Kirchner skirchngwdg.de.