The postgraduate forum is an annual scholarly conference on current topics in contemporary history offering external junior researchers the chance to present and discuss their dissertation projects at the ZZF. Doctoral candidates at the ZZF are in charge of planning and organizing the conferences.
18th Potsdam Postgraduate Forum on Contemporary History
Insecure Conditions. ‘Precarity’ and ‘Precarisation’ in Contemporary History
Institutes: Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History (ZZF), Hans Böckler Foundation
Organization: Lukas Doil (ZZF), Antonia Gäbler (ZZF), Till Goßmann (ZZF), Simon Specht (ZZF)
November 23-24, 2023 | Potsdam
Since the 1990ies, ‘precarity’ and, in some languages, ‘precarisation’, have established themselves as terms to describe perceived insecurities and vulnerability. Originating in developments in the workplace, they are used most notably to denote the spread of insecure conditions into spheres of life that were previously deemed secure. ‘Precarity’ thus also marks a discursive realignment of the social world: Since the 1970ies, precarious conditions have been increasingly deplored and made visible, but at the same time, they have also been normalized and integrated into the lives of the majority populations of ‘western’ societies.
Taking up the concept of precarity from a historical perspective and investigating processes linked to it can enable us to connect various contemporary phenomena and their histories with each other and to put them into comparative perspective. This field extends from labour relations, identity assertions or governance to the very conditions of academic research itself. Therefore, at the 18th Potsdam Postgraduate Forum on Contemporary History, we propose to take the concept of ‘precarity’ as a starting point to inquire into situations of insecure circumstances in contemporary history: (co-)productions and perceptions of them, ways of dealing with them, and their effects on those exposed to them.
The Potsdam PhD Forum is funded by The Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History (ZZF) and the Hans Böckler Foundation.
Further information on the 18th Potsdam Doctoral Students' Forum on Contemporary History: "Insecure Conditions. ‘Precarity’ and ‘Precarisation’ in Contemporary History" with a detailed programme can be found here.
We kindly ask for registration by 16 November via doktorandenforum [at] zzf-potsdam [dot] de (doktorandenforum[at]zzf-potsdam[dot]de).
Contact
Lukas Doil, Antonia Gäbler, Till Goßmann, Simon Specht
Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam e.V.
Am Neuen Markt 1, 14467 Potsdam, Germany
doktorandenforum [at] zzf-potsdam [dot] de