1917 was an important year for historical change on a global scale - not only due to the American entry into the War and the Russian Revolution. The year can rightly be considered the turning point of the First World War and the foundations for the decisive structures of the short 20th century. Contemporary observers recognized these global connections very well. But in the historiography limited to the Nation State these global connections did not matter for decades. This has changed during recent years. New research projects have analyzed the transnational links between the innumerable revolts, rebellions and revolutions and the following violent reactions in all parts of the world. They have focused on the scarcely known incidents far away from the global "centers", investigated south-south relations and revealed new research potentials.
The conference will unite these new investigations and open up space for dialogues. Transnational and comparative approaches will be considered as well as perspectives from social, economic, cultural and political history. The revolutions and counterrevolutions of the years 1917-1920 will be compared. Their entanglements will be analyzed in a global context. How did the revolutionary potential develop in different world regions before 1917? What was the impact of the Russian Revolution? How can transfers of knowledge, experiences and practices be described? What kind of images were spread on a transnational scale? How can the relationship between local and external causes be described? What was the importance of violence in the disputes of the late war years and the early post-war years? What kind of reactions developed? To what extent were revolutionary and counterrevolutionary movements in different contexts and continents linked to each other?
We are looking forward to welcoming researchers at the conference "World-Counter-Revolutions: 1917-1920 from a Global Perspective" from June 9-11, 2016 in Hanover, Germany. The program is available in the column on the right.
Program
Panel I: The Russian Revolution in Europe and Beyond
Panel II: Anti-Colonial and Anti-Imperial Movements
Panel III: The Role of Violence
Panel IV: Nationalist Movements and Transnational Connections
Panel V: Visions of Order
Panel VI: Democratic Heritages
Panel VII: Cultural Manifestations of Revolution
Confirmed speakers include:
David Hopkins (Glasgow), Patrick J. Houlihan (Chicago), Robert Gerwarth (Dublin), Renato González Mello (México), Tomio Izao (Yamaguchi), Michael Jabara Carley (Montréal), Abdulhamit Kirmizi (?stanbul), Jörn Leonhard (Freiburg), Jie Hyun Lim (Seoul), Igor Narsky (Chelyabinsk), María Inés Tato (Buenos Aires), Adam Tooze (Columbia), Enric Ucelay-Da Cal (Barcelona), Guoqi Xu (Hong Kong).
Organizers
Prof. Dr. Stefan Rinke (Freie Universität Berlin) and
Prof. Dr. Michael Wildt (Humboldt Universität Berlin)
Registration
There are no fees for attendance but registration is essential.
Language
The conference language is English.
Venue and public transport
The conference is held at Herrenhausen Palace, a new conference center in Hanover, Germany. You can reach the venue by subway: Take line 4 or 5 and get off at "Herrenhäuser Gärten".