How people and ideas have crossed boundaries in the past has become an increasingly important area of historical scholarship. Indeed, almost all historical moments have been shaped by migratory processes, boundary crossing and entanglements.

Yet, for all the achievements of recent innovations in historical writing, the static boundaries of contemporary nation states retain the greatest influence upon memory and the writing of history. These restrictive spaces close historians’ eyes to linkages, parallel processes, movement and the multiple complex fluid currents of history, be they economic, political, cultural or technological.

In fact, if anything, the discrepancy between history which focuses upon a single national space, situated within the framework of a national historiographical tradition and history writing which tells the story of the past from a number of perspectives is increasing.

With this in mind, The Berliner Kolleg für Vergleichende Geschichte Europas (The Berlin School for Comparative European History), The Department of History at the Central European University (CEU), Budapest and the Department of History and Civilisation at the European University Institute (EUI), Florence, three institutions committed to truly comparative and transnational approaches to the past, have organized a third Graduate Conference in European History. Following on previous annual conferences on ‘New Political History’ and ‘Periodization,’ this year’s topic is ‘Migration and Movement in European History.’

We invite papers which focus upon migration and movement in history and share our aim to historicize migration through critical analysis of closed or static conceptions of the past. We understand migration and movement as multifaceted and complex historical phenomena which have taken many forms. Thus we particularly welcome papers which address questions relating to the following themes:

I. Migratory subjects

People, ideas, knowledge.
Goods, technology, science, capital and economy.
Ideologies, political systems, forms of social organization, regimes and laws.
Cultures – religions and cultural processes (for example, fear and hysteria, heritage and myths).
The adaptation of migrating subjects within local contexts.

II. Forms and modes of migration

Mediums of exchange and transfer – physical and philosophical.
Places of interaction and encounter, for example aristocratic courts, books, café houses, port cities/gateways, and other loci which have often been viewed by traditional historiography as peripheral.
Capital cities and other metropoles.
World fairs, exhibitions and museums.
Constraints and restrictions upon transfer and migration.

III. Migration and transfer in historiography

Historiographical schools and approaches which have crossed boundaries and crossed national historical communities.
Resistance within national historiographical traditions to approaches from outside.

We especially welcome papers which draw on research undertaken in more than one national setting and work which engages with more than one national historiography.

There will be no registration fee and lunches and accommodation will be provided.

To apply, please send a 300 word abstract, together with a short CV to GRACEH2009@gmail.com by February 1, 2009. The main working language of the conference is English, but every attempt will be made to accommodate papers in other languages. Papers will be pre-circulated and participants should note that the deadline for the pre-circulation of papers will be April 10th.

To enliven the discussion there will be keynote lectures by Leo Lucassen, Professor of Social History at the University of Leiden, and EUI Professors Sebastian Conrad, Antonella Romano, and Philipp Ther. Professors who have confirmed their participation as session leaders include: Arnd Bauerkämper (Berlin), Laszlo Kontler (CEU), Rainer Bauböck, Heinz-Gerhard Haupt, Kiran Patel, Antonella Romano, Philipp Ther, Bartolome Yun-Casalilla (all EUI).

ABOUT GRACEH

The Graduate Conference in European History (GRACEH) is intended as a forum for international and intergenerational scholarly exchange. It is organized by the Berliner Kolleg für Vergleichende Geschichte Europas, the Central European University, Budapest and the European University Institute, Florence. Following the success of the Budapest and Berlin conferences, the 2009 conference will take place in the historical buildings of the EUI at Florence. It will provide a forum for young researchers to discuss the place of the migration of people and transfer of ideas in their own research projects. In doing so, it will highlight the weakness of closed or static conceptualizations of the past and come to a fuller understanding of the impact of processes of migration upon history. This challenge will contribute to debates about the boundaries of Europe and individual European States in our contemporary globalizing world. The keynote speakers and commentators who will discuss the papers presented will contribute to the special working atmosphere of this international graduate conference. Details of previous years GRACEH conferences may be found at

http://hsozkult.geschichte.hu-berlin.de/tagungsberichte/id=1648 (Budapest)

http://hsozkult.geschichte.hu-berlin.de/tagungsberichte/id=2186&count=332&recno=8&sort=datum&order=down&geschichte=68wn&geschichte=68 (Berlin)

We look forward to meeting you in Florence.
The GRACEH 2009 Organising Committee: Prof. Heinz-Gerhard Haupt, Prof. Philipp Ther (both EUI), Pascale Falek, Mark Jones, Jannis Panagiotidis (doctoral researchers at the EUI).

For more information about the organizers of GRACEH please visit the following websites:

The European University Institute, Department of History and Civilization: http://www.eui.eu/HEC/
The Berliner Kolleg für Vergleichende Geschichte Europas: http://web.fu-berlin.de/bkvge/
The Central European University, Department of History: http://www.hist.ceu.hu/