Call for Papers: Re-Visions of Entanglements in Daily Life in Central and Eastern Europe

Re-Visions of Entanglements in Daily Life in Central and Eastern Europe: Microhistorical Approaches and Inclusive Perspectives, 1840–1930

Final Conference of the Austrian Science Fund ESPRIT Project “Entanglements of Jews and non-Jews in Private Spaces” (FWF ESP120)

Organizer: Susanne Korbel (Center for Jewish Studies, University of Graz | Jewish Studies Program, Central European University Vienna)

Processes of emancipation, migration and urbanization brought the diverse populations of Central and Eastern Europe into ever-closer contact. As a consequence, a multitude of everyday encounters and entanglements across ethnic, linguistic and religious boundaries impacted the living experiences of Habsburg society, especially from the 19th century onward. Beyond religious sites, new urban(ized) institutions and infrastructures shaped daily experiences: People from all social strata, with different religious, cultural, and other affiliations, lived side by side as neighbors or even roommates. They encountered each other when visiting department stores, markets, or post offices, and crossed paths outside apartments on corridors, on balconies, and likewise at their workplaces, schools and in the military.

In recent years, scholarship has increasingly examined these everyday interactions, moving beyond conventional group-based narratives in the Habsburg Empire, its successor states, and beyond. New findings on the ways that the physical and historical realities of mobility and settlement, peace and war, have impacted the peoples of the Habsburg lands, recent historians have taken a more nuanced approach to the of contacts and (dis/)exchanges, commonalities and differences within societies and between communities. Micro-historical approaches—drawing on theoretical concepts that blur rigid religious, ethnic, national, or gender boundaries—have led to new understandings of coexistence and conflict, social inclusion and exclusion.

This international conference Re-Visions of Entanglements seeks to bring together innovative research on daily life in Central and Eastern Europe (1840–1930). Based on case studies, the conference invites joint reflection on theoretical concepts and methodological decisions. We seek contributions that explore new social-historical perspectives and address questions such as: 

• How does the perspective of everyday contacts and encounters alter group-based narratives, both in terms of coexistence and conflict?
• What inclusive interpretations of Habsburg and post-Habsburg societies do micro-historical approaches make possible, and how do they complicate our understanding of boundaries between religious, ethnic, and social groups?
• What sources do we use to “read conventional narratives against the grain”?
• In what ways can case studies of everyday life inform larger debates on integration, assimilation, acculturation, marginalization, or resistance?
• How did encounters in shared spaces (apartment buildings, workplaces, markets, schools, or leisure institutions) contribute to shaping social relations, hierarchies, networks of solidarity, or nourished sentiments?
• How do perspectives of gender, class, and disability enrich our understanding of entanglements and the negotiation of daily life?

 Whether through the lenses of military history, Jewish–non-Jewish relations, linguistic history, disability studies, gender studies, or related fields, we encourage dialogue across disciplines and subfields.

The conference will take place at the University of Graz (Austria) on February 24-25, 2026. We look forward to receiving abstracts in English of no more than 300 words by researchers from all relevant disciplines. Please send an abstract and a short CV by e-mail (to susanne.korbel@uni-graz.at) by 30 November 2025.

We will provide travel allowances for participants who have no academic affiliation or are unable to cover their travel expenses. In the abstract, please indicate whether you would like to apply for a travel allowance.