The series of biennial international conferences Socialism on the Bench have been organised since 2013 by the Centre for Cultural and Historical Research of Socialism (CKPIS), at the Juraj Dobrila University of Pula. Around a hundred participants per conference have been gathering to discuss different main themes: Cultural and Historical Interpretations of Yugoslav and Post-Yugoslav Societies (2013), Socialism: Construction and Deconstruction (2015), Communists and Communist Parties: Policies, Actions, Debates (2017), Continuities and Innovations (2019), and Antifascism (2021). A selection of papers is usually published two years after the conference.
This time the theme is defined as CRISES AND REFORMS. State socialist and market socialist societies went through a series of adaptations while trying to enhance the performance of the system in power. Sometimes the motivation for these changes was a matter of ideological evolution of the system and general modernization, but now and then the trigger was a specific crisis in a certain sector, such as unemployment growth, low industrial productivity, irregular supply, inadequate tax or social welfare systems, emigration, outdated curricula, lack of funding for culture or maybe ineffective local administration. A crisis could be admitted or denied, postponed or accelerated. A reform could be a popular or a painful measure, a success or a defeat. The conference call is interested in all these extremes and the panoply of shades in between, in other words both in large scale watersheds and miniature structures of problems and their solutions. We hope the papers will provide answers to the following questions and more: what are the reasons for political, social, financial and other crises; who are the actors of crises and are they also the agents of change who design and implement reforms; are the crises used as opportunities for larger transformations; do reforms bring improvements or cause chaos in the known and established order; how are crises and reforms presented to the public and what is the perception of these processes among different social groups including the everyday surroundings.
The goal of our conferences, as well as the entire mission of the Centre, remains the same: strengthening the cooperation among scholars with similar research interests, revealing thematic, methodological and theoretical similarities, getting to know different interpretations, enhancing dialogue and new research.
The conference languages are Croatian (and mutually understandable languages) and English. Participants’ presentation time is 15 minutes. We accept individual applications, but it is possible to indicate the desire to participate in a specific panel. It is also possible to suggest events like book launches and round tables. Names of the three invited keynote speakers will be announced in due time.
The conference will be held at the Juraj Dobrila University of Pula and in partnership with the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation SEE. There is no conference fee. Conference organizers will provide a meal per day and arrange a discount at the recommended hotel. Participants will have to arrange their own trip and accommodation.
Application deadline is April 1, 2023. By April 30, applicants will be notified about the acceptance of their proposal. By June 30, the conference programme will be published.
For more information, please visit the conference website
https://www.unipu.hr/ckpis/en/socialism_on_the_bench/2023,
or contact us at ckpis.conf@gmail.com.
We are looking forward to your submissions!
Programme Committee
Chiara Bonfiglioli (Cork), Ulf Brunnbauer (Regensburg), Anita Buhin (Lisbon), Igor Duda (Pula), Lada Duraković (Pula), Boris Koroman (Pula), Andrea Matošević (Pula), Tanja Petrović (Ljubljana)
Organizing Committee
Anita Buhin (Lisbon), Igor Duda (Pula), Lada Duraković (Pula), Tina Filipović (Pula), Boris Koroman (Pula), Andrea Matošević (Pula), Sara Žerić (Regensburg)