The second conference of the International Society for Cultural History (ISCH) will address a broad series of questions pertaining to cultures of violence and conflict. For scholars across a range of
disciplines the origins, nature, and impact of violence and conflict have been of fundamental concern, as highlighted by recent publications including Joanna Bourke’s Rape: A History from 1860 to the Present, and Slavoj Žižek’s Violence. Given that ongoing scholarly interest, and the urgency of such matters in the contemporary world, it is appropriate that this assembly encourages research and discussion on these topics as seen through the diverse perspectives of cultural history.

Possible themes and topics might include, but are not limited to:
- Histories and memories of trauma.
- The enabling and legitimizing of violent social relations through popular consent and common national identities.
- Spaces and places of violence: the geography and memorialization of war and conflict.
- The visualization, narrativization, and aesthetics of violence and conflict in art, fiction, film, television, video games, and new media.
- Relationships between war and science, medicine, and technology.
- Everyday violence and gendered conflict.
- Comedies of violence.
- The manipulation of cultural phenomena and propaganda to create or sustain genocide, ethnic cleansing, racial violence, or religious conflict.
- The role of culture in the avoidance or amelioration of violence and conflict.
- The relative importance of cultural phenomena in the foreign policies of ancient and modern societies.
Paper proposals (300 words max.), or proposals for panels of three speakers, should be sent to isch2009@uq.edu.au by 19 December 2008. Those invited to speak at the conference will be expected to
become members of the ISCH (only 5GBP) before 29 May 2009, when the final program will be posted.
They, and other participants in the conference who are members of the ISCH, will be entitled to an equivalent reduction in the conference fee. Further information on the ISCH, including how to join, is available at: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/isch/
For additional information on the University of Queensland’s Cultural History Project see:
http://www.arts.uq.edu.au/index.html?page=82701
For information on Brisbane and Queensland, refer to: http://www.tq.com.au/
and http://www.tq.com.au/destinations/brisbane/brisbane_home.cfm
Co-convenors: Associate Professor Chris Dixon and Associate Professor Jason Jacobs