War’s End? The Legacy of Migration and Displacement, Europe 1918-2018
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UW Extension Pyle Center 702 Langdon St., Madison, Wisconsin 53706
press release: In commemoration of the end of World War I and the 20th anniversary of the Center for German & European Studies, this conference explores the social, legislative, and cultural legacy of population displacement unleashed by the ravages of wars of the past century, with a particular emphasis on how it has transformed European society. European and American scholars from the fields of history, literature, arts scholarship, and sociology will convene at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to explore the political, economic, cultural, and social implications of war and migration, both forced and voluntary. Starting with the aftermath of World War I and leading up to the migrant and refugee situation in contemporary Europe, topics will include refugees and storytelling, economic migration and citizenship, genocide and the creation of human rights law, and the contentious politics of commemorating the turbulent experiences of the past century. Our keynote speakers will bring the conversation up to the present, addressing the current European Union and U.S. impasse over free trade, immigration, and human rights regimes. Associate editor at the Financial Times, Wolfgang Münchau, will be giving the opening remarks. The event will also include a concert of songs from World War I, a graduate-student poster session, and a conversation with His Excellency David O’Sullivan, Ambassador of the EU to the U.S., moderated by Professor Mark Copelovitch.
Schedule of Events
Thursday, November 8
4:00-5:30PM Opening Address by Wolfgang Münchau, associate editor, Financial Times, Vandeberg Auditorium 121.
5:30-6:45PMReception in honor of CGES Founding Director, professor emeritus Klaus Berghahn; Remarks by professor Pamela Potter, CGES director, and professor emeritus Marc Silberman, former CGES director. Alumni Lounge.
7:00-8:30PM A Concert of Songs from World War I, by Paul Rowe, baritone, professor of voice, UW-Madison. Pre-concert lecture by Gayle Magee, professor of musicology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Morphy Hall, Mosse Humanities Building
Friday, November 9
9:00-10:30AM Session I, Room 325/6: Moderator: Marc Silberman, professor emeritus of German Studies, UW-Madison
“Back and Forth: ‘Border Lives’ in Theater and Performance, ”Teresa Kovacs, visiting scholar, German Department, University of Michigan
“The Cynical Migrant: Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children (as Disillusionment of Rhetorical Survival)," Dorothee Ostmeier, professor of German, University of Oregon
10:45-12:15PM Session II, Room 325/6: Moderator: Kathryn Ciancia, assistant professor of history, UW-Madison
"’Stellung nehmen!’: Debates on Art and Politics in the German Language Exile Press, 1933
-39," Anne Shreffler, professor of musicology, Harvard University
“For King and Country: Canadian Nationalism and Songwriting in the First World War,” Gayle Magee, professor of musicology, University of Illinois
1:00-2:00PM POSTER SESSION AT&T Lounge
2:00-4:00PM Session III, Room 325/6: Moderator: Ulrich Rosenhagen, director, Center for Religion and Global Citizenry, UW-Madison
“The End of World War I – The Rise of the ‘Bloodlands’?” Winson Chu, associate professor of history, UW-Milwaukee
"Displaced Polish Jews and Polish Catholics in Postwar Europe (1945-1960)," Anna Cichopek-Gajraj, associate professor of history, Arizona State University
“Wars and Displacement in the former Yugoslavia, Syria, and Iraq,” Hans-Jörg Albrecht, professor and director, Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law, Freiburg, Germany
4:15-5:45PM Session IV, Room 325/6: Moderator: Ernesto Livorni, professor of Italian language and literature, UW-Madison
“The Transnational Veteran: The Demobilisation of the Italian Emigrant Soldier in the United States, 1918-1921," Selena Daly, lecturer in modern European history, Royal Holloway, University of London
“Songs of Migration and Displacement in Post-1945 Germany,” Ulrike Präger, postdoctoral fellow, University of Konstanz
Saturday, November 10
All events in Room 325/6
9:00-10:30AM Session V: Moderator: B. Venkat Mani, professor of German, UW-Madison
“Common and Uncommon Grounds: Theater and Migration in Contemporary Germany,” Mathew Cornish, assistant professor of theater hHistory, Ohio University
“’The Slap’: Refugees in 21st Century German Literature,” Brigitte Jirku, professor of German literature, University of Valencia, Spain
10:45 -12:15 Session VI: Moderator: Irina Shevelenko, professor of Slavic, UW-Madison
“Survivors and Exiles: Yiddish Culture after the Second World War,” Jan Schwarz, Associate Professor, Center for Languages and Literature, Lund University, Sweden
“Poetry of Leningrad at War,” Polina Barskova, associate professor of Russian literature, Hampshire College
1:30-3:00 “The State of the EU/U.S. Relationship,” conversation with His Excellency David O’Sullivan, ambassador of the EU to the U.S., moderated by Mark Copelovitch, professor of political science and public affairs, UW-Madison