Continuing to deal with phenomena of the contemporary Croatian and Serbian culture and history, favoring critical approaches based on comparative methods and intercultural studies, the 6th "Desnica's Encounters", devoted to the great Croatian and Serbian writer Vladan Desnica (Zadar, 1905 – Zagreb, 1967), will discuss the general topic topic Intellectuals and the War, 1939-1947. The "short" 20th century is for some scholars "The Age of Extremes", for the others "The Age of the Intolerants", etc., an era hardly comparable to any other in the recorded history. The period of the WW II (1939-1947) in particular condenses all the fundamental civilizational problems of the 20th century. The frightening costs in terms of human life, the dilemmas that arose at its start as well as at its end, the use of atom bomb and the construction of the "iron curtain", are significantly marked by scientization and intellectualization of the "total war" within and beyond the boundaries of the confronted worlds.

The intellectuals were actors in that war were more numerable than in any previous one. They were among war-mongers as well as among the war opponents, among fighters and observers, and above among the executors and the victims, the persons that speak out and those that keep their council. Encouraging different research approaches, these "Desnica's Encounters" will be focusing on topics and problems in the Croatian, Serbian and broader Southern-Slav and South Eastern contexts that have thus far been less present as an object of investigation or have not, due to specific circumstances preceding and following 1990, at all been dealt with.

The application deadline is June 30th 2011. The applicants are asked to submit their abstracts up to 2000 characters long not later than July 23rd.

"Desnica's Encounters" are conceived as short lectures (with the duration of 15 - 20 minutes each) followed by an extensive discussion. The working languages will be Croatian/ Serbian/Bosnian and Montenegrin.

The participants' accommodation and living expenses in Croatia will be covered by organizers. The co-chairmen of "Desnica's Encounters" are Professor Krešimir Nemec and Professor Drago Roksandić, both of them at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Zagreb.

Information and applications:
krešimir.nemec@ffzg.hr,
drago.roksandic@ffzg.hr