Activism within internationalist networks
Militer au sein des réseaux internationalistes
A global history from below
Une histoire globale par le bas
Published on Thursday, December 14, 2023
Abstract
The aim of this conference is to redefine internationalism through its networks and militant practices, working from the macro and micro scales to inscribe it in an extra-European perspective. This prerequisite allows for a recognition of the dialogue between a global history and a “bottom-up” approach. These two approaches contribute to the revival of prosopography and to the redefinition of the hermeneutical challenges of biographical work, particularly when they are grounded in the experience and phenomenology of activist practices, and their geographical and sociological spatialisation. Gender dynamics, Subaltern studies, the Alltagsgeschichte and solidarities will therefore be at the heart of this conference.
Announcement
Scientific argument
The 19th century witnessed a dual process paradoxically both defined as antagonistic and consubstantial[1]. On the one hand, Europeans were drawing the contours of new national communities under the aegis of a capitalist domination imbued with national myths[2] and the constant quest for homogeneous societies[3]. On the other hand, the creation of these new contours gave rise, intellectually, practically and spatially, to internationalism. Often written in the singular, this concept was used first and foremost to describe the aims and dynamics of organisation within the labour movement. However, “internationalism has taken many forms, from grassroots mobilisations to institutionalised structures”[4]. Whether formal or informal, internationalisms have marked the 19th century, from feminism to anti-colonialism. Recently, the focus has shifted to the political movements deemed less inclined to internationalism, such as conservatism and nationalism. By contrast, liberalism and pacifism, age-old forms of internationalised thought, have been the subject of historiographical renewal through the Journal of Pacifism and Nonviolence[5] and the work of Jean-Michel Guieu and Stanislas Jeannesson[6].
These new approaches come with a redefinition of the concept of internationalism and its protagonists: the internationalists. Historians Michele di Donato and Mathieu Fulla describe “internationalists” as members of communities who transcend national borders more than simply crossing them[7]. However, the concept of internationalism, along with transnational history, has often been misused to describe cross-border movements that have nothing in common in terms of militant dynamics and practices.
The aim of this conference is to redefine internationalism through its networks and militant practices, working from the macro and micro scales to inscribe it in an extra-European perspective. We intend to break with an object of study that has too often been confined to the boundaries of Eurocentrism, and to grasp the polycentrism of internationalist networks and their diachronic perspective. This prerequisite allows for a recognition of the dialogue between a global history and a 'bottom-up' approach. According to Dominic Sachsenmaier, the former is defined as “other conceptions of space [that go] beyond methodological nationalism and Eurocentrism”[8], while the latter favours “themes of the private, the personal and the lived”[9]. It creates a “mosaic history” that complements global history. These two approaches contribute to the revival of prosopography and to the redefinition of the hermeneutical challenges of biographical work[10], particularly when they are grounded in the experience and phenomenology of activist practices, and their geographical and sociological spatialisation. Gender dynamics, Subaltern studies, the Alltagsgeschichte and solidarities will therefore be at the heart of this conference. They will enable us to address new research on the labour movement, decolonisation and feminism, while also raising new questions about conservative, nationalist and liberal currents. In this way, our conference will establish connections between 'History from below', Global history and Transnational history.
Possible themes
- Differences between formal and informal internationalism
- Spatialisation of internationalist networks
- Militant sociability
- Activist solidarity
- Cultural transfers/material transfers
- Everyday life of activists based on the Alltagsgeschichte model
How to submit
Send your abstract to the following address: colloqueinternationalistes@gmail.com
before February 15, 2024.
You will be asked for:
- An abstract of 500 words
- An indicative bibliography of 6
- A short biography of 4 to 5
- Contributions should not exceed 20 minutes.
The working languages will be French and English.
The conference will take place at the University of Strasbourg on June 18-19, 2024. It will be the subject of a collective publication at the end of our rich exchanges.
Organising committee
- Lola Romieux (UR 3400 ARCHE, University of Strasbourg)
- Clément Fontannaz (UMR 7069 LinCS, University of Strasbourg)
- Andrea Benedetti (UMR 7069 LinCS, University of Strasbourg)
Scientific committee
- Nicolas Delalande (Sciences Po Paris)
- Delphine Diaz (University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne)
- Alexandre Dupont (University of Strasbourg)
- Darya Dyakonova (International Institute in Geneva)
- Stéphanie Prezioso (University of Lausanne)
- Clément Thibaud (Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales)
Notes
[1] Rupp Leila J., « Constructing Internationalism: The Case of Transnational Women’s Organizations, 1888-1945 », The American Historical Review, vol. 99, n° 5, 1994, p. 1571. URL : https://www.jstor.org/stable/2168389
[2] Citron Suzanne, Le mythe national, Ivry-sur-Seine, Les éditions de l’Atelier, 2008.
[3] Slezkine Yuri, Le siècle des juifs, Paris, La Découverte et Seuil, 2008 [2004], p. 109.
[4] Di Donato Michele et Mathieu Fulla (dir.), Leftist Internationalisms, Londres, Bloomsbury, 2023, intro., para. 2. URL: https://www.perlego.com/book/3790687/leftist-internationalisms-a-transnational-political-history-pdf
[5] Sous la direction d’Alexandre Christoyannopoulos, University of Loughborough.
[6] Guieu Jean-Michel et Jeannesson Stanislas (dir.), « La Société des Nations, une expérience de l’internationalisme », Monde(s). Histoire, espaces, relations, n° 19, 2021.
[7] Tzu-Chun Judy, Radicals on the Road, Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 2013, intro., para.5.
[8] « Alternative conceptions of space beyond methodological nationalism and Eurocentrism. »; Sachsenmaier Dominic, « Global History », Version: 1.0, in: Docupedia-Zeitgeschichte, 11.02.2010, http://docupedia.de/zg/sachsenmaier_global_history_v1_en_2010
[9] Ginzburg Carlo et Poni Carlo, « La micro-histoire », Le Débat, vol. 10, n° 17, 1981, p.133.
[10] Manjapra Kris, M.N. Roy: Marxism and Colonial Cosmopolitanism, Londres, Routledge, 2010.
Subjects
- History (Main category)
- Periods > Modern > Nineteenth century
- Periods > Modern > Twentieth century
- Society > Political studies > Political history
- Mind and language > Thought > Intellectual history
- Society > History > Women's history
- Society > Political studies > Political sociology
- Society > History > Social history
Places
- Maison Interuniverstaire des Sciences de l’Homme – Alsace (MISHA) ; Palais universitaire - 5 allée du Général Rouvillois; 9 place de l'Université
Strasbourg, France (67)
Event attendance modalities
Hybrid event (on site and online)
Date(s)
- Sunday, February 18, 2024
Attached files
Keywords
- global history, subaltern studies, internationalisme, socialisme, histoire par le bas, sociabilités militantes
Contact(s)
- Colloque internationalistes
courriel : colloqueinternationalistes [at] gmail [dot] com
Information source
- Clément Fontannaz
courriel : klementz [dot] fontannaz [at] gmail [dot] com
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« Activism within internationalist networks », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Thursday, December 14, 2023, https://doi.org/10.58079/1ce9