To PhD fellows: Seminar invitation and call for papers. Villa Grande 15th ? 16th May 2008

21.1.2008

What is a minority? Who defines a minority, on what basis, and in what respect someone is a minority? What and who determines how minorities are presented in history and in the story of modern societies? Minorities are defined in relation to a majority, and is often related to identity aspects like colour or creed. Modern democracies must create political and social conditions that guarantee a common ground for both minorities and majority. Modern societies are simultaneously faced with the continuous challenge of renegotiations of the concept and interrelation of minority and majority. The recognition of the role of minorities in history as well as in modern society is important for the creation of such a common ground. This is the rationale for studying in depth, in comparison and inter-disciplinary how the story and identity of minorities might become a more integrated part of the common history, for instance in history and school books. The seminar The above mentioned issues will be addressed by the Senter for studier av Holocaust og livssynsminoriteter (HL-senteret) in cooperation with the École Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE), Sorbonne, Paris at a seminar titled: "How to Integrate Minority Narratives in National Memory?" The seminar will take place in Oslo at Villa Grande where HL-senteret is located. Young researchers from France and Norway are hereby invited to present papers in some of the sessions. In addition to creating a forum for reflection on the crucial issues regarding the integration of minorities into history, the seminar aims to strengthen the academic exchange between France and Norway in general and the contact between Norwegian PhD candidates and PhD candidates at the Sorbonne/EPHE in particular. The Oslo seminar will be followed up by a similar colloquium in Paris in the fall of 2008, hosted by the EPHE. Call for papers The seminar is soliciting research papers primarily from PhD candidates, but also papers from advanced Master students and Post Doc fellows will be considered. Abstracts of papers (maximum 1 page) must be received by December 20th 2007. Submitted abstracts will be evaluated on significance to the conference topic, originality and quality, and the candidates that are selected for presentation of papers will be notified by the end of January 2008. Submission deadline for the papers will be April 20th 2008. Electronic submission of manuscripts (in PDF or Word formats) is required for abstracts as well as papers. Submissions should be included the paper title, name of author, their affiliation, email address and postal address. In addition the candidates are asked to attach a CV (curriculum vitae) to the submitted paper abstract. The organisers plan to make a conference report where the submitted papers will be published. Contact information The paper abstracts should be submitted to maria.rosvoll@hlsenteret.no marked "Minorities in History". If you have any questions regarding the seminar or the call for papers, please also contact Maria Rosvoll at the Senter for studier av Holocaust og livssynsminoriteter (HL-senteret) Phone: +47 22 84 21 30