CfP Seventh biennial conference Past, Present, Future (Pula, Croatia, October 15–16, 2026)
Call for Papers
Bonds of Unity: Solidarity and Society Across History
Seventh biennial conference in the series Past, Present, Future
Pula, Croatia, October 15–16, 2026
In recent years, the concept of solidarity has once again emerged as a central topic in public discourse. Economic inequalities, migration, demographic changes, political polarization, public health crises, environmental challenges, and armed conflicts have raised fundamental questions about the bonds that hold societies together and the mechanisms through which communities respond to periods of uncertainty and change.
Yet solidarity is not merely a contemporary concern. Throughout history, individuals and groups have formed networks of cooperation, mutual assistance, collective identities, and social obligations that enabled societies to function, adapt, and endure. These bonds have taken many forms: family and kinship ties, religious communities, guilds, political movements, charitable organizations, civic associations, labor unions, welfare institutions, and international alliances. At the same time, solidarity has often been defined by exclusion as well as inclusion, creating boundaries between those considered members of a community and those regarded as outsiders.
The seventh biennial conference in the series Past, Present, Future seeks to explore the historical dimensions of solidarity and social cohesion across different periods, regions, and cultures. We invite scholars to examine how communities have been created, maintained, challenged, and transformed over time, and how ideas and practices of solidarity have shaped societies from antiquity to the present day.
The conference welcomes contributions from all fields of historical research, as well as related disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. Comparative, transnational, interdisciplinary, and methodological approaches are particularly encouraged.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
- Concepts and theories of solidarity in historical perspective
- Family, kinship, and local communities
- Religion, charity, and mutual aid
- Social welfare and public assistance
- Labor movements, trade unions, and workers’ solidarity
- Political movements and collective action
- Nationalism, citizenship, and social belonging
- Empires, states, and mechanisms of integration
- Solidarity during wars, crises, and disasters
- Migration, diaspora communities, and transnational networks
- Gender, class, ethnicity, and social inclusion
- Health, medicine and social solidarity
- Public health, epidemics, and community response to diseases
- Philanthropy, volunteering, and civil society
- Education, culture, and the construction of collective identities
- International cooperation and humanitarian initiatives
- Memory, heritage, and shared historical experiences
- Digital communities and new forms of social cohesion
We welcome individual and panel submissions from scholars at every stage of their research career working inside or outside Higher Education, as well as doctoral students.
Proposed panel submissions are welcome to suggest a moderator. The papers should be about twenty minutes in duration. We support hybrid participation but are unable to accommodate fully virtual panels or sessions.
Please send your paper proposals (up to 1500 characters, including spaces) with an accompanying brief biographical note to past.present.future.pula@gmail.com (or rkurelic@unipu.hr). The working language of the conference is English.
Important Dates
Deadline for abstract submission: 15 July 2026
Notification of acceptance: Late July 2026
Conference: 15–16 October 2026
Venue
Faculty of Humanities, Juraj Dobrila University of Pula
Alda Negrija 6, Pula, Croatia
Selected papers may be considered for publication in our Scopus indexed journal History in Flux following the standard peer-review process.
We look forward to welcoming you to Pula and to fostering a stimulating discussion on the historical dimensions of solidarity and the bonds that have shaped human societies across time.
https://ffpu.unipu.hr/past-present-future-2026/call_for_papers