Call for Papers: Political and Literary Representations of Forced Migrations

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Subject: Call for Papers: Political and Literary Representations of Forced Migrations

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Call for Papers: Political and Literary Representations of
Forced Migrations


Call for Papers:
Images of Loss and Reconciliation
Political and Literary Representations of Forced Migrations in
Comparative Perspective

Rationale for the Conference

Forced migrations across borders and internal displacements of
populations have shaped the twentieth century like no other century
before. In Europe, forced population transfers are primarily linked
with two phenomena which in themselves are interrelated: the decline
of (multi-national) empires and the redrawing of state boundaries. 

>From the First and Second Balkan Wars, to World Wars One and Two, and
finally to the violent break-up of Yugoslavia, Europe has seen
numerous expulsions and exchanges of populations that did not fit into
the concept of ethnically homogeneous states. As a consequence of the
ethnic mobilisation of polities and because of the hostilities that
existed between them before and during wars, and continue to do so
after the cessation of military activities, multi-ethnic and
multi-cultural societies are perceived as unstable, and those elements
within them that are 'held responsible' for this instability are
perceived as threats that need to be eliminated.

This conception of ethnic heterogeneity as a threat to the security of
states led to the 1913-1923 population exchanges in the Balkans and to
the expulsion of ethnic Germans from Central and Eastern Europe. While
these events may have been unprecedented in their time, the phenomenon
of expulsions in one form or another was by no means a unique Balkan
or German experience. Italians in what are now Croatia and Slovenia
suffered a similar experience after the Second World War, Poles were
forcibly resettled from their homelands in today�s Ukraine and Belarus
during the same period, while Ukrainians and Belarusians in Poland
were 'repatriated' to the two Soviet Republics. So called population
exchanges also took place between (Czecho-)Slovakia and Hungary, and
the most recent developments in the aftermath of the break-up of
Yugoslavia also testify to the fact that expulsions have remained in
the repertoire of politicians in Europe. 

The deportation of nationalities in the former Soviet Union is one of
the most drastic examples of the uprooting and internal displacement
of entire population groups by a state within its own boundaries.

Beyond Europe, forced migrations have occurred within states and
across national boundaries: the expulsion from their traditional
homelands of the Australian Aborigines and of the Native Americans are
but two examples in a long list of internal displacements. The
population exchanges between India and Pakistan and the Rwandan
genocide are two cases of vast forced migrations across borders.

Quite clearly, these various forms of forced migrations have had a
considerable impact both on the individuals and populations directly
affected by them as well as on the states and nations within which the
forced migrations occurred or which received the refugees and
expellees. This impact on individual, collective, and national
identities has been reflected upon in various literary forms � novels,
poems, and essays. We believe that an analysis of these literary
representations can help understand the causes and consequences of
forced migrations, as they reflect individual experiences and
perceptions of these events and thus contribute to the shaping of
public attitudes towards forced migrations. At the same time, such
individual accounts are hardly ever written in isolation from public
discourses on the issues they portray so that an examination of
literary representations of forced migration will enable us to analyse
the interaction between dicourse and politics in this particular
sphere.

Structure of the Conference

Against this background, we seek to investigate two areas:

1) Political Representations of Forced Migrations, their Causes, and
Consequences
2) Literary Representations of Forced Migrations, their Causes, and
Consequences

In order to accomplish the best results, most productive atmosphere,
and intellectually stimulating cross-disciplinary exchanges, it is
proposed to conduct two topical but linked international conferences
in each area in which all project participants will take part.

We invite proposals for papers (theoretical perspectives, single case
studies, comparative analyses) on the following issues:

1) Political Representations of Forced Migrations
- Myth and reality of forced migrations and their use for political
purposes
- Similarities and differences between expulsions and internal
displacements
- The role of the expellee populations in the political processes of
the receiving and expelling states
- The role of internally displaced populations in the political
processes of their states
- Forced migration as a factor in international relations

2) Literary Representations of Forced Migrations
In examining the literary representations of forced migration, we
propose
- to document the changes in the form and content of the various
representations of expulsion
- to analyse how and which political events and developments have
affected literary representations and vice versa
- how and to what extent such representations have shaped the public
discourse on the topic and vice versa
- how individual and national identities have been formed in the
context and aftermath of expulsions
- how different gender perspectives have had a distinct impact on the
form and content of the various representations of forced migrations

Case studies that should be considered for analysis in both areas may
include:
- the expulsion of ethnic Germans after the Second World War
- the expulsion of Poles from Ukraine
- the expulsion of Italians from Croatia and Slovenia
- ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia
- the Rwandan genocide
- Palestinian Refugees
- the mass migration in the context of the foundation of India and
Pakistan
- the expulsion of the Asian community from Uganda 
- the internal displacement of Australian Aborigines, Native
Americans, and nationalities in the Soviet Union

3) Organisation of the Conference

Both conferences are jointly coordinated by Prof. Ian Wallace and Dr.
Stefan Wolff at the University of Bath, England, UK.

Conference one (Political Representations of Forced Migrations) to
take place in September 2002, conference two (Literary Representations
of Forced Migrations) to take place in April 2003. Both conferences
will take place at the University of Bath.

Deadlines: 

Friday 25 August 2000 for indications of interest, accompanied by
paper title and a SHORT abstract of no more than 300 words. All
applicants will be notified by 15 September of the outcome.

Friday 3 November 2000 for more comprehensive outlines of papers of
accepted applicants and biographical abstracts.

Friday 2 August 2002 for completed papers for Conference one
(Political Representations of Forced Migrations).

Friday 31 January 2003 for conference two (Literary Representations of
Forced Migrations).

Please email your title proposals/SHORT abstracts in the first
instance to [email protected]
If sent as attachment, please use .txt, .rtf, or .doc formats.

We are currently seeking funding from various sources that will enable
us to cover the costs of travel and accommodation for paper
presenters, but at this stage we can not yet guarantee whether we will
be able to raise sufficient funds.

After the two conferences, we plan to publish revised papers in themed
volumes.

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