call for papers: Between Hope and Reality. Modernization and Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe

 call for papers: Between Hope and Reality. Modernization and Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe. Europa-Universität Viadrina, Frankfurt an der Oder, 22.05.2025 - 23.05.2025, deadline 23.02.2025

Full cfp: https://www.vcpu.europa-uni.de/en/research/conferences/index.html#00-conference0-153577005

The VCPU Annual Conference 2025 addresses current challenges in Polish and Ukrainian studies and is dedicated to the research project “Mod-Block-DDR.” Both areas are framed by the concepts of “modernization” and “transformation.” The presentation of research findings on socialist modernization in the German Democratic Republic and the People's Republic of Poland, including their achievements and obstacles, will serve as a stimulus for discussing the political, economic, social, and cultural transformations in Central and Eastern Europe. All researchers from disciplines such as (but not limited to) economic history, the history of science, or sociology are invited to participate. At the Viadrina Center of Polish and Ukrainian Studies, we aim to place special focus on Ukraine as a new sphere of modernization processes (e.g. migration, the opening to western Europe, and integration with the European Union) and socio-economic transformations initiated by the outbreak of Russia‘s War of Aggression. These focal points highlight the diverse theoretical and methodological potential of the Viadrina Center of Polish and Ukrainian Studies: interdisciplinarity that integrates historical, political, economic, and cultural studies and fosters transnational cooperation between scholars.

Topics of Interest We invite original and unpublished contributions on topics including, but not limited to: 

 Socialist modernization 

 Political, economic, and cultural transformations in Central and Eastern Europe (broadly defined) 

 Migration and integration with the EU 

 Theoretical and methodological approaches to Central and East European studies 

 Cross-border interdisciplinary collaborations 

We welcome contributions on topics related to these themes as well as on general themes in the history of Central and East European and neighboring fields. 

The format of proposals should be as follows: 

• Proposals for individual papers (title, abstract, affiliation, short biography of applicant) 

• Proposals for whole panels in traditional or alternative formats (panel title, theme description with max. 300 words, abstracts of papers with max. 150 words each, name, affiliation, short biography of participants. Please send a single document in pdf-format)

Submission Guidelines 1. Please name your file with your surname. 2. Authors are requested to submit the proposals by February 23, 2025. 3. Interested participants need to register by February 23, 2025. 4. The official language of the conference, including all presentations and discussions, will be English. 5. Please submit your abstracts and papers to Mr. Konrad Walerski: walerski@europa-uni.de.

Kontakt

Konrad Walerski, M.A.

walerski@europa-uni.de

Tel.: +49 335 5534 2645