DAAD-sponsored Postgraduate Conference, 4-7 May, 2016
German Department, University of Leeds
German Pasts - German Futures
This conference brings together postgraduates from across the UK, Ireland
and Germany to present cutting-edge work on contemporary German-(language)
history, culture and society. The scope of the conference is broad, to
encourage dialogue between postgraduates working across different
disciplines, and a variety of themes relating to the German-speaking
countries. In general terms, we are interested in the most recent debates
on how the German past is being remembered and memorialised, and - as
important - on what kind of future is emerging for the German-speaking
countries. We are especially interested in the cultural, political and
social consequences and emerging understandings of rapid demographic
transformation, German leadership in Europe, the rapidly changing
relationship between German-speaking countries and ‘the world’, the impact
of recent crises (the EURO and refugee crisis), and in new and emerging
national, regional, and local identities.
Dr Hans Kundnani,
Senior Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United
States, will present a plenary talk at the conference (title to be
confirmed).
(http://www.gmfus.org/profiles/hans-kundnani)
Participants will present papers of thirty minutes in English or German.
All accommodation and meals in Leeds will be covered free-of-charge, but
UK and Ireland participants will need to pay their own travel.
Participants from Germany will have their flights paid but will need to
pay their own transport to and from airports.
Brief
abstracts (100-200 words) and a short CV to be sent to Stuart Taberner
([log in to unmask]) by November 18, 2015.
Showcasing Public Engagement and Impact
A major interest of the conference is in how research on German themes can
contribute to public engagement and impact. Participants will have the
opportunity to take part in a number of events happening in and around the
conference, showcasing public engagement and impact in German at Leeds.
There will also be sessions on ‘how to get published’ and ‘how to apply
for academic posts’.
Performance by Roger Grunwald: The Mitzvah
They were called “mischlinge,” a Nazi term meaning “mixed blood” or, more
crudely, “halfbreed.” It was used to describe Germans descended from one
or two Jewish grandparents. By the outbreak of the Second World War, tens
of thousands of “mischlinge” were serving in the German armed forces. The
Mitzvah (the play), conceived, co-written and performed by actor and child
of survivor, Roger Grunwald, tells the tragic story of a German half-Jew
who became an officer in Hitler’s army.
http://rogergrunwald.com/themitzvahproject/
Performance by RJC Dance
RJD Dance is a historically black dance group from North Leeds. This
performance, which was designed in collaboration with members of the
German department at Leeds and funded by the AHRC, presents young black
Britons’ interpretation of the relevance of the Holocaust to their
present-day lives.
https://www.facebook.com/GermanatLeeds/photos/a.151243438324786.31267.14675
8465439950/798582723590851/
The Skipton Diaries
Caroline Summers presents her translation project, working with
undergraduate and postgraduate students at Leeds, and with Skipton
Library, to translate diaries written by German PoWs interned in Skipton
during World War One.
http://arts.leeds.ac.uk/kriegsgefangen/
Conscientious Objectors in World War One
Ingrid Sharp presents her research and outreach project, working with
various community groups in the UK, on the history of conscientious
objectors in the UK during World War One.
https://theconversation.com/life-was-even-tougher-for-the-german-conscienti
ous-objectors-of-world-war-i-26715
Junge Filmmacher auf Spurensuche in Bautzen
Paul Cooke presents his AHRC-funded project, in which he travelled to
Bautzen with young British people and, working with young Germans and the
education team at Bautzen, developed a film dealing with how the GDR past
is remembered.
https://vimeo.com/135783634
Germany’s Confrontation with the Holocaust in a Global Context
This AHRC-funded exhibition, designed by Stuart Taberner in collaboration
with the South African Holocaust and Genocide Foundation and the UK
National Holocaust Centre, will be displayed at the conference venue
throughout the conference.
https://www.facebook.com/GermanatLeeds/videos/vb.146758465439950/7469880087
50323/?type=2&theater
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