The 8th International Conference "Frühe Neuzeit Interdisziplinär"
Rethinking Europe: War and Peace in the Early Modern German Lands
March 8-10, 2018, St. Louis

Commemorating the 400th anniversary of the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), the 8th International Conference sponsored by "Frühe Neuzeit Interdisziplinär" (FNI) takes as its theme, "Rethinking Europe: War and Peace in the Early Modern German Lands." The Thirty Years' War will be the prism through which we will look back at the Reformation and forward toward developments in the decades that followed. We will (re)consider the position and significance of the Thirty Years' War in the context of Reformation history. For example, do events in the sixteenth century look different in light of the war’s eruption and resolution? How does this event fit into the larger century of armed conflict in Europe, e.g., the reforming movements, the "Long Turkish War," the changing balance of power around the Baltic.

At the same time, peaceful periods and the desire for peace also figured prominently in this conflictridden age. Between the Fall of Constantinople (1453) and the Siege of Vienna (1683), Europe made its way into the modern world. We will ponder the role and shape of religion, politics, economics, law, art, gender, theological and philosophical thinking, literature, and music in this age of war and peace that has often been characterized as the foundation of modern Europe.

We propose to look at war and peace from the sixteenth to the early eighteenth centuries, and, in the process, to review the research of the past years and explore the historical, social, economic, literary, and artistic dimensions with the multi-disciplinary approach for which the FNI is known.

Topics might include:

- Current Research on War and Peace
- New directions in Military History
- The Reformation and the Thirty Years' War
- Popular History and War/Peace Experiences (Autobiographical Accounts)
- Material Objects, Cultural Transfer, and War
- Victim narratives: Captives, Jews, Slaves, etc.
- War and Peace as Media events
- Cities in War
- Gender in/and War
- Discourses of War and Peace in Literature
- War, Peace, and the Development of Law and Diplomacy
- War, Technology, and Innovation
- War, Science, and Knowledge
- Realities after the Treaties were Signed
- New Turns and the War
- Material and Environmental Consequences of War

The 8th International Conference "Frühe Neuzeit Interdisziplinär" will be held at Washington University in St. Louis from March 8-10, 2018, co-sponsored by Washington University, the American Friends of the Herzog August Bibliothek (AFHAB), and the Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel, Germany.

Abstract submission

Group proposals as well as individual submissions are welcome, but please bear in mind the essential interdisciplinary objective when proposing panels (three papers and a chair or moderator). Papers may be in English or German. Depending on budget, there may be travel support available for graduate students.

Please send your contact information and an abstract of no more than 250 words per paper to fni@wustl.edu. All other queries can be addressed to gerhildwilliams@wustl.edu, sigrund.haude@uc.edu, or christianschneider@wustl.edu. Deadline for submissions: August 15, 2017.
For further information, please visit the FNI's website: http://fni.ucr.edu/.