Please be advised that the deadline for the Call for Papers for the following event has been extended to the 7th of September 2018:

Papers are invited for a one-day postgraduate symposium on the current situation of the Left in Germany and the UK, and its outlook for the future. The event will be held at the Institute for German Studies (IGS), University of Birmingham on Wednesday 10th October 2018.

The symposium is designed as a forum for postgraduate researchers from various disciplines to present their work relating to the broad theme of the Left in Germany and the UK, and its future.

Confirmed discussants are Professor Tim Bale (Queen Mary University of London), Dr Isabelle Hertner (King’s College London), Dr Susan Milner (University of Bath), and Hinrich Kuhls (Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung). Participants in a concluding Roundtable on “Working with German Political Foundations” will include representatives of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.

2018 marks special anniversaries of two distinctive German personalities of the Left: the bicentenary of the birth of Karl Marx, and the centenary of the birth of Helmut Schmidt (SPD Chancellor of the FRG, 1974-1982). Recent political developments arguably demonstrate an increasing rift within and between the two main parties of the present-day German Left, the SPD and Die Linke. Will the visibly half-hearted decision by the SPD to form another Grand Coalition after the 2017 election prove toxic for their future electoral prospects and thus lead to a further marginalisation of Social Democracy in Germany? The apparent demise of New Labour and growth of Momentum poses a similar question as to whether the centre-left in the UK is being hollowed-out by twenty-first-century populist reinterpretations of Marxist ideology.
These developments, set against the distinctive political, social and economic contributions of Marx and Schmidt, offer an opportunity to reflect on the situation and outlook for the Left in both Germany and the UK.
It is hoped to publish a report on the event, including a summary of the individual presentations, on the IGS website and H-Net.
 

Topics that might be considered include, but are not limited to:
- The history of the Left
- The legacies of Karl Marx / Helmut Schmidt
- The crisis of Social Democracy
- The Left and populism
- Civil society and social movements
- The Left and its attitude(s) to the European Union

We invite proposals for papers of no more than 15 minutes. Researchers may choose to present an overview of their thesis as a whole or an aspect of it on which they would like feedback. Proposals may focus on the (future of the) Left in Germany or the UK – or both.

The colloquium will start at 11:00 on Wednesday 10th October 2018 (registration from 10:30) and end by 18:00. A symposium dinner is planned for that evening.

The cost of the symposium, accommodation and dinner for paper-givers will be fully funded by the IGS. Subject to demand, a contribution to travel costs may be provided at the discretion of the organisers but is unlikely to exceed £100 per participant; Preference is likely to be given to non-mainland UK participants in the allocation of travel contributions. Places for participants will be allocated on a competitive basis.

Abstracts of no more than 200 words and any queries should be submitted to the organisers at the symposium email address – thefutureoftheleft@gmail.com – by 15th August 2018.

Contact [via symposium email address]:
Dr Nicholas Martin
Director of the Institute for German Studies
University of Birmingham
OR
Dr David J. Zell
Associate Research Fellow
Institute for German Studies
University of Birmingham