E-KsięgarniaThe place and time of the conference: Poznań, Poland, June 22-24, 2023
The deadline for the submission of abstracts: April 16, 2023
Keywords: Cold War, communist dictatorship, dissidence, political opposition, dissident political thought, intellectual history, Polish Studies protests, revolutions, Solidarity, trade unions
Fields of research: history, sociology, political sciences, philosophy, anthropology, cultural studies
Polish Solidarity from 1980–81 was a mass non-violent movement of resistance against communism, which demanded respect for employee rights, a return of civil freedom and national sovereignty, and liberalization of culture. Solidarity subverted the Yalta division of Europe and used the universally supportive attitude of Western societies to convince the Euro-Atlantic states to revise their foreign policy with respect to the Soviet Union. As a result, Solidarity became the most important link in the chain of factors leading to the fall of real socialism in 1989–1991. The aim of this conference is to reflect on the historical, social, and spiritual heritage of Solidarity. Four sections have been planned for the conference.
Solidarity and the Cold War – the aim of this section is to answer the question about the influence of Solidarity on the course of the Cold War in the 1980s and on the civil society in Western countries,
Solidarity and the Downfall of Communism – this section aims to analyze the impact of Solidarity on the development of opposition and the disintegration of communism in East Central Europe.
On the Ideological Heritage of Solidarity – this section aims to interpret socio-the political thought of Solidarity, its relations with the dissident thought in East Central Europe, and its significance for the contemporary world.
Solidarity in Social and Historical Sciences – this section aims to consider the usefulness of various concepts/paradigms (the concept of new social movements, the theory of revolution, etc.) in the research on Solidarity.
The Organizers: The Historical Research Office of the Institute of National Remembrance, Poznań Branch, The Faculty of Philosophy of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Institute of History, Research Centre for the Humanities, Centre of Excellence of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Polish Philosophical Society, Poznań Division
Patronage: The Wielkopolska Commission of the Independent Self-Governing Trade Union „Solidarność”
Coordinator: Prof. Krzysztof Brzechczyn
Please send paper proposals consisting of the title, an abstract (up to 250 words), and a biographic entry (up to 100 words) to krzysztof.brzechczyn@ipn.gov.pl