UNIONS THROUGH HISTORY
1. TRANSNATIONAL IDEOLOGIES
This module is intended to focus on the unions, commonwealths and leagues created or projected by the major ideologies throughout history – those that go beyond traditional national borders. What is their role in the given historical period, how are they structured and how do they function? Possible areas for research in this workshop could be those related to the Crusades, Reformation, Counter-Reformation etc. Other transnational phenomenon is pan-ideology – pan Hellenism, pan Osmanism, pan Turkism, pan Islamism, pan Slavism etc. The ideology of the socialistic internationalism also presents interesting examples with the activity of the Comintern and later – Cominform. Other possible fields for research are the major socio-political ideologies like liberalism, conservatism, socialism etc. – their evolution in wider political context and ability to create transnational values. The goal of this workshop is to determine the way these ideologies relate to the unions they form and whether or not they manage to achieve their main goal – creation of transnational unity and domination over nationalism.
2. FEDERATION – CONFEDERATION
Unions of these types present interesting historical cases because it is sometimes difficult to make clear distinction between countries with federative and confederative model of government. The realization of such unions often differs from the way they were planed (a process that goes in both directions) and under different circumstances confederations evolve into federations and vice versa. There are also international structures (like European Union) that have some characteristics from both models and are therefore hard to define. Workshop’s goal is to deal with different examples of federative – confederative government models and answer questions like: What particularities distinguish each one? Could we find elements of such government in Ancient or Medieval times? Which one suits certain type of country better? How do they develop throughout history?
3. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC UNIONS – CONFRONTATION AND INTERACTION
Relations between society and financial capital through history have always been dynamic and controversial ones. They could be traced back to the moment humans invent money and become integral part of their development ever since. This workshop intends to deal with the different forms and organizations that society, on one side and capital on the other, use to protect various social groups. This problem could be approached from different angles by either stressing on the confrontation or by focusing on the interaction between them. Another important issue is the role of the government in this antagonism or collaboration – is it possible for a country to lead economy and financial capital in a direction that benefits society or to turn into a huge corporation itself?
4. UNIONS INSIDE THE UNION
Unions are based on the unity of interests of their components. Therefore when this unity no longer exists they start to disintegrate. However such process could develop in different directions, follow different models and bring different results. This workshop focuses on the smaller unions that are formed during the collapse of the big one and how do they affect the process. History presents various examples and cases, whether it would be about the disintegration of the Habsburg Empire, the Anti-Hitlerist Coalition, the Soviet Union or something else. As we can see the inside unions could either reform, destroy or take the leading role in the "mother union", thus giving to historians complicated processes to explain along with opportunity to construct various models. Workshop’s goal is to compare these models and try to find cross points in the development of different types of unions and to analyze the process of their disintegration.
5. MICRO UNIONS
This workshop is focused on social history and other related fields of the contemporary historical knowledge. Presentations about family, gender and everyday life could find their place here. These small formations based on them usually do not directly affect the historical flow and are therefore often underestimated by historians until very recently. However, today some social historians tend to put so many efforts in rehabilitating them as worthy fields of research that they, in fact, lose any sense about the actual role this "micro unions" have for society’s development and for the historical processes. That's why the goal of the workshop and the discussions that would follow the presentations would be for the participants to share their reflections about where is the right balance and how could social history and micro unions, based on family and gender, contribute to contemporary historiography and to better understanding of society.
6. UNIONS AND WAR
War has been part of human history from its very beginning. The desire for conquering new territories, gaining more wealth and controlling strategic trade routes and resources is one of the main factors that cause military conflicts. The ability to find trustworthy allies is just as important for the outcome of war as winning victories on the battlefield. The main goal of this workshop is to analyze the reasons behind formation of military alliances and their importance for the development and the outcome of any given war. Another challenging task for the participants would be to speculate on the “alternative history” problem and its historiography aspects – whether it could somehow be used as a research tool by historians or the word “if” should be forever banned from their vocabulary. Beside that, the workshop provide wide specter of opportunities – any article related to wars and unions could find place here, whether it’s about military plans and operations, propaganda, public opinion, diplomacy or personal relations between politicians and military commanders.
