Asiya Bulatova: Viktor Shklovsky’s Involuntary Modernism: Writing and Other Bodily Functions

Asiya Bulatova: Viktor Shklovsky’s Involuntary Modernism: Writing and Other Bodily Functions. Bloomsbury 2026. ISBN 9781350422612

https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/viktor-shklovskys-involuntary-modernism-9781350422612/

CFP: International Conference “Education after Totalitarianism”

 International Conference “Education after Totalitarianism”

The Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, in collaboration with Vytautas Magnus University, the Faculty of Architecture at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, the Institute of Educational Sciences at Vilnius University, as well as the Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark in Lithuania and the Danish Cultural Institute in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, is organizing an international academic conference on October 1–2, 2026.  

The conference “Education after Totalitarianism: Legacies and Transformations in Central and Eastern Europe” will bring together researchers and practitioners to discuss the development of education systems after 1989–1991.  

The event will seek to reveal how historical experiences of totalitarianism shaped education policy, institutions, and practices in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the challenges and changes the region faces today.  

The conference will examine how education policy, curriculum content, and value foundations have changed in the region’s countries following the collapse of the Soviet and socialist systems. More than three decades later, not only general regional trends are evident, but also striking differences: some countries have achieved internationally recognized results, while others still face challenges posed by ongoing reforms and disputes over values.  

The relevance of the conference is further underscored by the increasingly frequent public discourse in Lithuania regarding the state of the education system, the direction of reforms, and the response to global challenges. An understanding of these issues will be sought by comparing Lithuania’s experience with that of other Central and Eastern European countries with similar historical trajectories.  

Researchers and education policy experts from Lithuania and abroad are invited to the conference. Proposals for the conference may be submitted by June 30, 2026, via email to valstybingumocentras@lnb.lt.   

The conference language is English; the event will take place at the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania in Vilnius.  

The conference is part of the event series “A Year with Denmark: Bridges of Culture and Solidarity”, organized by the National Library of Lithuania in collaboration with the Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark in Lithuania and the Danish Cultural Institute in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The initiative is dedicated to marking the 35th anniversary of Denmark’s recognition of Lithuania’s restored independence. The series of events is supported by the Danish Ministry of Culture.  

CFP: Central and Eastern Europe as Method(ology) in Disability Studies

The Faculty of Management and Social Communication and the Research Platform “Disability Studies in Eastern Europe: Reconfigurations” (Jagiellonian University, Kraków) invite paper submissions for a conference "Central and Eastern Europe as Method(ology) in Disability Studies" that will be held on 27-28 November 2026, Kraków

Call for Papers

The Central and Eastern European region constitutes a specific context for the development of activism and critical disability studies. Post-socialist countries are marked by distinct historical and political trajectories that complicate generalized understandings of the Global North and have contributed to the emergence of particular conditions for the development of disability activism and critical disability studies. The socialist system and the post-socialist transformation shaped public institutions in a particular way—not only those dedicated to persons with disabilities/disabled people (we use both terms, as their choice reflects different individual preferences and modes of self-identification), but all others as well. At the same time, it hindered the development of independent initiatives, including social activism. The interests of minority and marginalized groups were often subordinated to the overarching struggle against an oppressive political system before 1989 and to economic concerns during the post-socialist transition. During both periods, attention was primarily directed toward the rights of the so-called normative majority. Although activism by disabled people/persons with disabilities did exist, it is often not recognized or commemorated today.

For these reasons, the systemic transformation and transition to a democratic capitalist system did not result in the recognition of civil and human rights for all, but rather for those groups that were already privileged. Moreover, neoliberal capitalism—characterized by an emphasis on independence, entrepreneurship, self-reliance, productivity, mobility, communicativeness, and flexibility—has contributed to economic disparities, inadequate support systems, insufficient accommodations, and restricted access to education, employment, and public services. These conditions have not been conducive to strengthening the professional, social, academic, or political participation of persons with disabilities/disabled people.

The ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) by Central and Eastern European countries (which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year) has contributed to improving the situation of this group by setting directions for legal, political, and cultural change. In a number of contexts in the region, the Convention is not only regarded as a normative framework—whose legal provisions, however, often fall short of producing meaningful change in practice—but is also actively used by disability movements as a political and policy instrument, as well as a tool for advocacy, shadow reporting, and monitoring of states, thereby fostering a strong sense of ownership and engagement. At the same time, the Convention emerged from extensive disability activism and advocacy and remains deeply rooted in disability studies and disability organizing; its genealogy, therefore, cannot be understood solely as top-down. However, in many countries in the region, the implementation of its provisions remains slow, fragmented, and, at times, merely declarative.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, ongoing since 2022, has placed the entire region in a state of insecurity and has directly affected the situation of disabled people/persons with disabilities. Among other factors, this contributes to the fact that persons with disabilities/disabled people in Central and Eastern Europe find themselves in a distinct position compared to many contexts commonly associated with the Global North, although both categories are internally diverse and should not be treated as homogeneous. This situation is shaped by multiple historical, political, and socio-economic conditions, including—but not limited to—the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Critical disability studies emerge directly from the realities in which they are situated. In order to maintain both scholarly credibility and social impact, they must continually undertake the work of situating themselves in context. This includes taking into account the past, present, and potential futures of the region and the groups they concern, as well as the cultural competences, experiences, and discourses within which the researcher operates. These situated experiences of disabled people/persons with disabilities, as well as those of allies and both disabled and non-disabled researchers, form the foundation for further knowledge production, the development of language and concepts, and the recognition of relationships between phenomena.

 

This raises important questions:

What does the “toolbox” of critical disability studies in Central and Eastern Europe look like today?

Which methodological approaches developed within Anglophone critical disability studies allow us to conceptualize and understand the situation of persons with disabilities/disabled people, as well as to study activist, artistic, and emancipatory movements in the region?

What concepts, rooted in local knowledge and experience, do we apply in our research projects?

What theories and methodologies do we therefore develop? How do we share them? How do we develop them?

In the countries of the region, critical disability studies still rarely function as a distinct academic discipline—there is a lack of dedicated study programs, departments, institutes, or doctoral programs. Consequently, research in this field remains dispersed across various disciplines, such as cultural studies, sociology, history, art studies, as well as legal and political sciences. While this dispersion hinders institutional development and research collaboration, it is also seen as a potential strength: it fosters theoretical and methodological diversity, enables the combination of research tools, and supports the circulation of knowledge about disability across disciplines. As a result, disability studies in the region are characterised by a high degree of interdisciplinarity and intersectionality.

For these reasons, the emergence of locally conditioned research practices, theoretical approaches, and activist and emancipatory strategies in the region is increasingly evident. The resulting “toolbox” represents not only a creative adaptation of theories developed in Anglophone contexts, filtered through the historical and contemporary experiences of disabled people/persons with disabilities in Central and Eastern Europe, but also includes approaches that are alternative to, or in critical dialogue with, them. In this sense, knowledge production in the region is not confined to local contexts alone but contributes to broader theoretical and methodological debates. Although the development of this field can be traced through a growing number of academic publications, as well as self-advocacy and activist initiatives, there have so far been relatively few attempts to systematically capture and map it.

The conference Disability Studies in Eastern Europe – Reconfigurations, held in Kraków in May 2024 (marking the culmination of the long-standing research platform of the same name, which has networked scholars from the region), provided an opportunity to examine the scale, condition, and research areas within Eastern European critical disability studies. At the same time, it sought to map the specificity of research methods and methodologies, as well as the self-advocacy and activist strategies of persons with disabilities/disabled people in Central and Eastern Europe. Rather than asking what Central and Eastern European disability studies can offer to a presumed “global field,” it is important to consider how CEE disability studies contributes to and reshapes disability studies more broadly, how it is positioned within these knowledge hierarchies, and how the “global” field is itself structured by dominant Anglophone—particularly American and British—frameworks.

 

We invite submissions addressing, however, not exclusively, the following issues:

how theoretical tools in critical disability studies are mobilised, adapted, and transformed in Central and Eastern European contexts, and how these engagements both contribute to and unsettle dominant Anglophone epistemological frameworks that often define what counts as “global” disability studies;

autoethnography and reflective accounts in one’s own research, self-advocacy, and activist tools;

the development of activist and artivist movements in Central and Eastern Europe;

art and culture created by disabled people/persons with disabilities:  unique aesthetics, critical and emancipatory tools, potential for individual and collective agency;

the local contexts of implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the countries of the region;

the impact of the history of disability on modes of research and on the current situation of persons with disabilities/disabled people;

mapping the specificity of critical disability studies in the region from both institutional and substantive perspectives;

access to education and the possibilities for academic career development for disabled researchers.

 

SUBMISSION:

You may submit:

individual paper proposal, that should include an abstract up to 250 words;

panel proposal, that should include an abstract of the panel and abstracts of 3 to 4 papers/presentations (each up to 250 words);

roundtable proposal, that should include an abstract of the roundtable (up to 250 words) and list of  discussants and their affiliations.

To submit your proposal please use the SUBMISSION FORM (https://forms.office.com/e/LaT4Axm5a0).

The deadline for submitting proposals is 20 July 2026. Presenters will be notified of the acceptance of their paper or panel by 1st September 2026.

The conference will be held  in Kraków in person. There is no conference fee.

The rules of procedures can be found here (https://ujchmura-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/magda_zdrodowska_uj_edu_pl/IQBCUiYp_DFeTZ3M7DmKSnFeAemMd0W3kxEGlQbkga_IuhM?e=enLrNn). If you have any questions please feel free to write to: monika.kwasniewska@uj.edu.pl or magda.zdrodowska@uj.edu.pl

 

Program Committee:

Monika Kwaśniewska Mikuła (Jagiellonian University), chair

Hana Drštičková (Charles University in Prague)

Magda Szarota (Polish Academy of Sciences)

Magdalena Zdrodowska (Jagiellonian University), organising team

Holý, Martin, et al.: Die Universität Basel und die Böhmischen Länder (1460–1630).

 Holý, Martin (in cooperation with Boldan, Kamil; Pelc, Vojtech; Podavka, Ondrej; Ryantová, Marie; Vaculínová, Marta): Die Universität Basel und die Böhmischen Länder (1460–1630). , Ostfildern: Jan Thorbecke Verlag 2025. ISBN: 978-3-7995-2045-4

Open Acess: https://shop.verlagsgruppe-patmos.de/media/medien/pdf/ebook/9783799521253_ebook.pdf

Das Buch befasst sich mit den Beziehungen zwischen der Universität Basel und den böhmischen Ländern im Zeitraum von 1460 bis 1630. Untersucht werden die Struktur und die grundlegenden Entwicklungstendenzen der Universität, ihre Frequentierung durch die Bewohner der böhmischen Länder, ihre soziale und konfessionelle Zusammensetzung, ihr Bildungsprofil und die weiteren Laufbahnen der Studierenden.

Ein anderer Schwerpunkt liegt auf dem Alltagsleben der Studenten in Basel (Finanzierung, Studium, Unterkunft, Verpflegung usw.), ihren literarischen Aktivitäten, Korrespondenznetzwerken, Stammbüchern und Bibliotheken. Auch der Einfluss des Basler Buchdrucks auf die böhmischen Länder wird in dem Buch analysiert. Einen integralen Bestandteil der Monographie bilden die Anhänge, deren umfangreichster Teil Biogramme von 211 untersuchten Persönlichkeiten enthält.

Call for papers: Nourishing the Socialist Bloc: Food, Health, and Environment after 1945

 Call for papers: Nourishing the Socialist Bloc: Food, Health, and Environment after 1945

26–27 November 2026

‘George Barițiu’ Institute of History & Romanian Academy of Sciences, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

[https://sites.google.com/view/nutripol-statesocialism/news]

CFP: Sites and Spaces, Cracow, 19.10.2027 - 22.10.2027, Deadline: 30.09.2026

 CFP: Sites and Spaces, Cracow, 19.10.2027 - 22.10.2027, Deadline: 30.09.2026

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The Organising Committee of the 5th International Congress of Polish History invites researchers to submit proposals for papers and panels for the upcoming Congress, to be held in Kraków from 19 to 22 October 2027.

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Krakow Branch of the Polish Historical Society; Faculty of History, Jagiellonian University in Kraków; Institute of History and Archival Studies, University of the National Education Commission in Kraków; Museum of Polish History; International Cultural Centre; Museum of Kraków, 31-007 Krakau (Poland)

The Congress is the largest international academic event dedicated to Polish history and culture. Held every five years in Kraków since 2007, it serves as a forum for presenting the latest interpretations and for the creative development of historiographical scholarship on Polish and Central European history. Scholars from various academic disciplines and from different generations and regions of the world are warmly encouraged to participate.

Theme

The leading theme of this edition is the categories of sites, places, and space. Within this broad framework, the Congress welcomes contributions from a wide range of subdisciplines, including urban history, the history of settlement, social, economic, environmental, and non-anthropocentric history, microhistory, the history of culture, ideas, and mentalities, and the history of warfare. Sessions are expected to be primarily problem-oriented and to transcend narrow chronological boundaries.

Submission Guidelines

Individual paper proposals should include a title, a short biographical note (name, affiliation, contact details), and an abstract of no more than 1,300 characters/200 words. Each paper presentation is allotted 20 minutes.

Session/panel proposals should include a title, a description of up to 4,000 characters/800 words, the names and affiliations of all moderators and participants, the titles and short abstracts of each presentation, and contact details for the moderators. Sessions should have two moderators from different institutions. Each session lasts 4 hours and should include at least 4 international researchers (with 5–7 participants being the standard). One scholar based in Poland may be invited, preferably as a commentator or discussant.

Deadlines and Practicalities

Proposals must be submitted in English or Polish by 30 September 2026 via the online form: https://forms.gle/mdPP17qD3TPojuNs6

Authors will be notified of the outcome by the end of October 2026. Draft papers or extended abstracts should be ready by the end of July 2027 and will be made available on the Congress intranet approximately one month before the event.

Congress participants will be provided with accommodation, coffee breaks, and lunches during the proceedings, as well as conference materials. No registration fee is anticipated.

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contact@polishhistorycongress.com

Call for aplicants: Asynchronous Histories Summer School

 Call for aplicants: Asynchronous Histories Summer School, 31 August – 4 September 2026

The Asynchronous Histories Summer School aims to explore regions and historical moments shaped by the coexistence of divergent and asynchronous sociopolitical processes. Such conditions often produce paradoxical outcomes, revealing unexpected tensions when seemingly well-established actors, institutions, and mechanisms are put into practice.

To examine these complex dynamics, participants will engage with a wide range of topics, including theories of historical time, unconventional transfers of ideas and practices between East and West, and alternative pathways of modernization. The programme will feature lectures, seminars, and discussions led by distinguished scholars, including participation of Prof. Dipesh Chakrabarty. During AHSS he will deliver an open lecture and lead a seminar with the school’s students.

In response to numerous requests, we have decided to extend the application deadline until 30 June 2026.

More information: https://wsnsir.uw.edu.pl/asynchronous-histories-summer-school-2/

Dipesh Chakrabarty is the Lawrence A. Kimpton Distinguished Service Professor of History and South Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago, a founding member of the Subaltern Studies Collective, and a founding editor of Postcolonial Studies. Through his scholarly work, Chakrabarty has both “provincialized Europe” and brought the contemporary humanities back down to Earth. Moving from social to planetary history, he has challenged historians to recognize that the significance of their work cannot be confined to the past alone. His writings have fundamentally reshaped the ways in which we problematize and interpret the present.

Drawing on philosophical reflection and the historical experience of the Global South, Chakrabarty argues that the teleological and Eurocentric narrative of progress and emancipation was never an autonomous or universal process. Instead, he advances a planetary perspective attentive to the operations of capital and the enduring structures of colonial power. In his more recent work, Chakrabarty emphasizes that humanity has profoundly transformed the conditions of planetary existence, exerting long-term effects on the Earth system itself. In his books he decentrers the privileged position of human agency in history and invites renewed reflection on politics, responsibility, and freedom from a perspective that exceeds the exclusively human point of view. From this perspective, planetary consciousness reveals both the limitations of the nation-state and the ambivalent role of the global capitalism. His understanding of political time ultimately compels us to conceive of “universal history” as a material phenomenon—an actual limit confronting our civilization.

Chakrabarty is the recipient of the Toynbee Prize and has been awarded honorary doctorates by the University of London, the University of Antwerp, and the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, and a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy. Among his most influential books are Rethinking Working-Class History (Princeton, 1989), Provincializing Europe: Postcolonial Thought and Historical Difference (Princeton, 2000), The Crises of Civilization: Exploring Global and Planetary Histories (Oxford, 2018), The Climate of History in a Planetary Age (Chicago, 2021), and One Planet, Many Worlds: The Climate Parallax (2023).