CfP: Anno 1922: Central Europe Between the Old and New Order

The Center for Austrian and German Studies at Ben-Gurion University and the Jacob Robinson Institute for the History of Individual and Collective Rights at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem invite submissions for an international conference in Israel (Jerusalem and Beer-Sheva) from 11 to 13 December 2022. The conference will take a close look at the year 1922 in order to evaluate how cultural, economic and political developments of that year played a role in establishing a new post-war order.

Anno 1922: Central Europe Between the Old and New Order

The First World War put an end to the imperial “Old Order” that had governed the 19th century and gave birth to a nationalist “New Order” that has since shaped the course of European history. But it was only in 1922 that key mechanisms of the “New Order” were put into effect in Central Europe and that some of its major turning points took place: the Genoa Conference, the Rapallo Treaty, the German-Polish Convention on Upper Silesia and Mussolini’s March on Rome. Also a great number of literary works were written, performed and published in Austria and Germany in 1922, reflecting the transition from the “Old” to the “New Order”. For example, Bertolt Brecht’s Drums in the Night was premiered in Munich, and in Vienna Franz Werfel’s play The Mirror-Man was staged at the Burgtheater. Finally, the reconstruction plan for Austria made her the first country to undergo financial stabilization with help of the League of Nations, while in Germany hyperinflation induced political violence, reaching a new peak with Walther Rathenau’s assassination at the hands of right-wings fanatics.

The main purpose of our conference is to examine historical events around the year 1922, not ruling out the possibility of looking at other “in between” events of the early and mid-1920s. We hope to shed new light on how “anno 1922” helped produce a decade of cultural boom and economic stability in Central Europe, how parliamentarian democracy and republicanism were strengthened in Austria and Germany and how these developments were related to fashioning the global “New Order” in Central Europe.

We are especially interested in comparative works that highlight the relations between Austria and Germany and in studies examining the interwar period from a transnational and intercultural point of view. We are further interested in a combined analysis of the connection between economy, culture and society as well as nation building and minority protection in Central Europe. We particularly welcome papers addressing the following themes in the context of 1922:

– The “New Order” and economic-monetary policy in Central Europe
– The League of Nations and the “New Order”
– Nation building and minority rights
– Political violence and ideological strife
– Austrian and German hyperinflation
– Austrian-German cultural relations and blossoming
– Expressionism vs. Conservatism in literature, theater and art
– Central Europe’s diplomatic, economic and cultural relations with the Soviet Union

Scholars wishing to participate are invited to send an abstract (up to 350 words) and short CV by 31 May 2022 to Ms. Anat Varon at cags@bgu.ac.il. Authors of selected abstracts will be notified by 30 June 2022. The conference language is English. The conference is planned as an in-person event. If international travel will be possible, flights costs (economy class) and the accommodation in Jerusalem (4 nights, single occupancy room) will be covered for participants from abroad. For further questions about the conference, please contact the Center for Austrian and German Studies at the email address above.

Kontakt

Anat Varon
E-Mail: cags@bgu.ac.il

https://robinson.huji.ac.il/


Anno 1922: Central Europe Between the Old and New Order. In: H-Soz-Kult, 28.04.2022, <www.hsozkult.de/event/id/event-117579>.


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