Two Upcoming Talks on Voluntariness in State-Socialist Societies
On September 12 and 13, 2023, two co-investigators from the research unit will be speaking at the conference “Solidarity and Voluntarism in State-Socialist Societies” at the University of Graz, Austria. For a panel on Friday Carolyn Taratko and Elena M. E. Kiesel will be presenting aspects of their research projects on voluntariness in Ghana and the GDR.
The international conference takes up the recent research observation that practices of solidarity at the national and international level have played a significant role in the history and everyday life of state socialist societies. This will be examined in greater depth by looking at voluntariness and voluntary organizations and their role at the crossroads of state policies and practices and views of citizens – more on this in the short event teaser provided by the organizers, who are inviting participants to the conference in cooperation with the Dimensions of Europe project, the Center for Southeast European Studies and the Department of Sociology at the University of Graz.
With her lecture “Voluntary Self-Mobilization in the Cooperative Movement in Ghana, 1957-1966” Carolyn will be focusing on voluntariness in the (post)colonial history of Ghana. Elena will shed light on the meaning of solidarity within the Neuererbewegung in her talk “’Der Mangel hat uns geeint’ – Voluntarinees and Solidarity in the GDR’s Neuererbeweegung as Reflected in Interviews with Contemporaries.”
The detailed program can be downloaded here. The conference will take place on September 12 and 13, 2023 in Graz (ReSoWi Center, Universitätsstraße 15, G G, 3rd floor, SR 15.39). You are welcome to contact the organizing team for attendance or any further questions: George Bodie (Goldsmiths, University of London) and Ana Kladnik (University of Graz).
