The workshops are the core groups in which participants will discuss their sub-topic of Integration Throughout History. When applying to the conference you need to choose in which workshop you would prefer to be. We will naturally try to fit people into their preferred workshops but hope participants understand everyone’s wishes cannot be entirely fulfilled.
Every participant prepares a presentation of ~20 minutes for his or her workshop. Participants can choose themselves the topic of their presentation but it should fit under his/her workshop theme. When the application period is over, your workshop leader(s) will contact you to give you more information about your workshop and also to point to some possible readings to do before the Conference. In order to insure your place at the Conference, it is mandatory you send a 1 page long abstract of your presentation to your workshop leader before the 8th of March. If you fail to send your abstract you will lose your place in the Conference.
To see how the participants are divided in the workshops, click here.
WORKSHOPS:
1. Economic Integration
In this workshop we shall concentrate on the loose topic of economic integration throughout history. Your area of interest can be vague, for example how have changes in economic conditions influenced ways of organizing society during a given period. You can also have a more regional point of view, for example has the advance of free market capitalism had an integrating or disintegrating effect in your home country? From micro-historical point of views to global ones and from prehistory to the 21st century, no matter what your area of interest is, if it has something to do with economic integration this workshop is the right one for you.
2. Cultural Integration
Cultural integration is a multi-dimensional concept, which may be approached in severalways. In this workshop one of the main themes is the social and cultural integration in academic and scientific world. Although the topic is certainly close to each one of us, we hope that you have some kind of historical point of view in your presentation (not just telling your own opinions or experiences).
Your topic can be abstract and conceptual or even sociologically oriented. You may also want to focus on a special subject and present your own case-study. Either way you choose, we hope that your topic relates to social and cultural processes of integration. It is even better if your presentation analyses the meaning of integration in academic and scientific world. But as the topic of this workshop is broad-based you may also choose some other aspects of cultural integration.
3. Social Integration
This workshop will focus on the micro historical aspects of integration. How does integration affect everyday life, and what have been the driving social forces behind integration. Also such things as the spread of ideas of the welfare state will be discussed. How successful have social changes been in moulding the world we live in today? How has the history from below affected integration or vice versa? Does integration focus more on the community or on the individual, and in what cases can this be harmful or beneficial to the nation-state? The aspects of lingual integration will be discussed. How far have family values become westernized due to social integration.
4. European Integration
The first thing that usually comes into one’s mind when talking about integration in history is the integration of Europe. Since the end of the Second World War the European integration process has been evolving without any significant standstills. The integration process has come a long way from the Founding of the Coal and Steel community in 1952 to the 2009 Lisbon treaty and is still evolving. The ever deepening cooperation between member states of the European Union is a unique phenomenon in the history of integration and a very ambitious political project. Here are a few possible questions/discussion topics: How old is the idea of European unity? What are the borders of Europe? What are the driving forces of European integration? Is there a common European identity?
The EU is usually seen as a result of post war socio-economic integration. However, older cultural ideas of European unity do exist. Thus presentations do not have to be about the EU or post war integration. In fact, presentations about older ideas of European unity and cultural integration are warmly welcome.
5. Political and Ideological Integration
History knows several examples of processes of political integration, meaning processes in which people or nations have come together to form bigger and stronger political entities. In Europe examples of this process can be seen in the way certain nation states, such as Germany and Italy, emerged during the 19th Century. It can also be seen to mean the various forms of cooperation between independent nations or formations of nation-based regional or global regimes, such as the United Nations.
A concept closely tied to political integration is ideological integration. Ideologies have been known to spread and unite people under the same banner, and make them cooperate to achieve common goals. Many nations have also tried to unite their citizens through common ideology, and integrating newcomers to what has been seen as ‘national ideology’, whether it be democracy or communism, has been seen important in many countries throughout history. The ideology of nationalism, which places the nation at the centre of its concerns and seeks to promote its well-being, is probably the most common ideology related to national political thinking.
This workshop aims to observe the ways how political and/or ideological integration has taken shape in history and what kind of effect it has had on people and societies.
6. Global Integration
Global integration, or globalization, can be described as a process in which regional cultures and societies have integrated and become a part of one global network, through which they share information and commodities. Although global integration is sometimes seen as a very recent phenomenon, it can also be seen to have a long history.
Throughout ages people have travelled across the globe and spread trade goods, information about other cultures, religions and ideologies and of course diseases. This kind of exchange has had a profound impact on all cultures, societies, economies and even on the environment.
During the centuries integration seems to have been going constantly further, as the distances have not been able to isolate people. Through technical advances in the fields of transport and communication the unification of the world into a cosmopolitan web of competition and cooperation has quickened making the network tighter. As a result the various positive and negative elements have been travelling across the globe with a faster pace.
This workshop will examine the development of this global integration process and its impact on nature, cultures and people themselves during various phases in history.
7. Gender and Integration
This group concentrates on gender and integration, obviously. We want to highlight this topic because gender has a great effect on a person’s ability to work in a society. Thus it is strongly related to the idea of integration. We have come up with nine sub-topics which you can use to help you get started. These topics are only suggestive so you may want to limit them according to your own interests or preferences. If you already have a topic in your mind which is not related to any of these sub-topics, feel free to suggest it to us.
1.) Women’s Integration through Religion
2.) Leadership and Masculinity
3.) Integration of Women in the Soviet Union
4.) Suffragettes
5.) Women Writers and Academic/Literary Integration
6.) Alternative Ways for Women to Obtain Power
7.) Building Up the Ideal Woman
8.) War, Violence and Gender
9.) Changes in Women’s Role Inside the Family
10.) Your Own Topic
8. Integration and Minorities
This workshop will put emphasis on ethnic and language minorities and their role in social integration. The role of minorities in European countries throughout history will be the main topic so try to make your presentation fall under this category. However, if you wish to examine other parts of the world or take a broader viewpoint on the topic please consult your workshop leaders first.
9. Conflicts and Integration
Ancient wars of conquest, world wars, civil wars and the Cold War. These are all conflicts, things of war and violence. Or the promise and threat of both. These darker sides of human nature are all factors that have contributed to integration and disintegration throughout history. Some might argue that conflicts, or maybe just the threat of a potential conflict, is an important and needed driving force behind any process of integration.
A good example can be seen in the process of European integration during the Cold War. If the Soviet Union did not exist, if the threat of a serious conflict, a clash of arms did not loom behind the horizon, would the European Union as we know it even exist?
The focus of this workshop is not narrow by any means. The aim of this workshop is to mix a bit of military history with (for example) political and social history and thus you can approach the subject from a variety of directions. There’s not a conflict too big nor too small that can’t be talked about in this workshop. As mentioned, your topic does not have to deal with an actual conflict. You can also explore how the threat of a conflict might have encouraged a process of integration in a given point in history.
(The only limits that you should bear in mind while choosing your topic about ”Conflicts and Integration” is that it should not be about the post World War II integration in Europe.)