"German History from the Margins"
German History Society Regional Conference
University of Southampton, UK, 13th-14th September, 2002

First Call for Papers:-

The conference German History from the Margins seeks to approach German
History since the enlightenment through comparative study of its minorities.
The underlying aim is to challenge not only the idea of a homogeneous
national master-narrative, but also the view that national minorities can be
studied in isolation from one another.  Thus while studies of German-Jewish
identity, of the construction of the Jew in modern German culture (the Jew
as "other") and of German Jewry as historical agent as well as object, have
done much to illuminate many broader aspects of modern German history, even
here the exclusive focus on the relationships between "Germans" and Jews
homogenises both majority and minority cultures that were in fact far more
fluid, pluralistic and open.  Historians have recently become more aware
that as local, regional and national identities and cultures evolved, and as
state boundaries shifted and political structures changed, the very notion
of a "minority" or a "minorities problem" changed as well.  The conference
'German history from the margins' thus seeks to offer a more open and
pluralistic approach to the history of minorities in Germany since the
Enlightenment. Through comparative treatment of the position of Jews and
other groups it asks whether there is a specific German minority problem.

Papers are invited under the following general headings:-

1. Dominant cultures and minorities: How did the concept of a Leitkultur
emerge within Germany and what place did minorities have in dominant
cultures?
2.  Minorities and dominant cultures: How did minorities imagine the
dominant culture and how far did they enter into it?
3.  Minorities and each other: Did minorities compete with each other in
their claims for access to economic power, for political influence or for
membership of the "nation"?
4.   Minorities and majorities in a comparative international perspective:
how does the historical treatment and experience of minorities in Germany
compare to developments in other countries? How did Germans experience the
status of a minority outside of Germany?

The intention is that the conference deliberations will be the starting
point for a subsequent edited volume.

Paper givers do not have to be a member of the German History Society to
take part in the conference.

Please send paper proposals (title) and 250 word abstract to the organisers
at the History Department, University of Southampton:

Dr Neil Gregor [log in to unmask],
Dr Nils Roemer [log in to unmask] or
Professor Mark Roseman [log in to unmask]

The German History Society is the UK organisation for historians of Germany.
It welcomes members not only from the UK but also from Europe and overseas.
The Society publishes the journal German History. For more details about the
German History Society, see its website at http://members.tripod.co.uk/GHS.

The History Department at the University of Southampton has research
concentrations both in German and in Jewish history.  For more information
about the department, see its website at http://www.soton.ac.uk/~history/.


Mark Roseman, 64A, Drayton Road, Kings Heath, Birmingham B14 7LR, UK
Home [and faxmodem]: +44 121 444 0829; Mobile +44 7712 614 135.