HISTORICIZING VIOLENCE: THE CONTESTED HISTORIES OF PRESENT DAY CONFLICT
ROME, 22-24 NOVEMBER 2017
CONVENED BY THE CENTRE FOR THE HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE (AUSTRALIA)

Violence is a pervasive but contested facet of 21st century life, manifesting in political, social, cultural and economic spheres as well as in private lives. As such, violence remains a persistent object of both academic interest and public debate. Yet the manner in which present-day violence is historicized–if at all–has profound implication for scholarly understanding and political responses. The aim of this conference is to bring together scholars from a variety of disciplines to place contemporary aspects of violence in their historical context, to reflect upon the process by which historicization occurs, and to underscore the workings of the past in the present. Areas of particular interest include:
• Flashpoints such as the Middle East, Western China, The Ukraine, Turkey, and Myanmar.
• The rise of new ethnic nationalisms and the spectre of fascism.
• Borders, boundaries and frontiers.
• Gender and violence.
• State-sanctioned violence.
• Institutional violence.
• Indigeneity and violence.
• Terror and supranational actors.

Proposals from scholars at any career stage and with expertise in any relevant area of history, politics and the social sciences, including areas of research that are currently in development, are welcome. We particularly invite contributions on case studies and issues that are innovative or provocative with regard to the many timelines of contemporary violence. The format is two thirty-minute papers per session with extra time for discussion. The conference will be at the Rome Global Gateway, University of Notre Dame; registration is 140 EUR and includes morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea for the duration. The keynote speaker will be Richard Drayton, Rhodes Professor of Imperial History at Kings College London. It is anticipated that a publication in a peer-reviewed series will arise from a selection of conference papers.

Proposals, with an abstract no longer than 200 words and a one page CV, should be sent to kit.candlin@newcastle.edu.au by 15th September 2017. For more on the work of the Centre for the History of Violence see http://www.newcastle.edu.au/research-and-innovation/centre/chov/about-us.