The 18th century is characterized by a continuous presence of military activity and is recognized as an era when armed conflict progressively became normalized. On a larger and smaller scale, wars and revolts touched societies and landscapes in Southeastern Europe. The Habsburgs, Ottomans, Venetians and Russians fought for ascendancy which provoked changes in rule and administration, created new (military) architecture and infrastructure, forced migration movements of the population, and extended the already heterogenic social fabric in the region by introducing new administrators, soldiers (and rulers e.g.). These conflicts and crises produced, at least for a period of time, resistance to unwelcomed foreign rules, but also offered opportunities for social advancement and economic profit. During war and its aftermath, the friendly and the hostile army had a strong presence in the public space. The movement and quartering of troops, the logistics of war resources, war events and battles or the negotiations of peace intensified contact with the local societies and left behind traces.

For the SOG18 Yearbook No. 9 (to be published in 2026) we are interested in which traces of »war« and the »military« have been absorbed by contemporary witnesses. We will shed light on the voices, views, and products of individuals and institutions that created echoes of war and will spark discussion on the entanglement of written, material and visual cultural artifacts which have been experienced and memorialised with the dimension of war by communities.

We will bring into question the momentousness that produced a memorable occasion, which influenced contemporaries to generate traces of war. Such traces can be glorifications of heroes and stories of traitors, intellectual and religious manifests, memorials as facets of remembrance or trauma, the politics of funerary monuments, literary works, narratives or folktales, travelogues, and artistic products like medals, portraits and paintings or military equipment and infrastructure. We highly welcome contributions which include gendered perspectives or follow an interdisciplinary approach. In this sense we explicitly invite cultural scientists, museologists and related sciences.

Please submit an abstract of 300 words with the article title, 5–6 keywords and a short biographical note, no later than December 15, 2024 to sog18@uni-graz.at. You will receive an answer by the end of January 2025. The final date for full paper submissions is August 31, 2025 and the issue will be published in the beginning of 2026.