„Women and the Holocaust“ The Sixth International Conference (Web)

Time: March 4-5-6, 2013
Venues: March 4, 2013 at Beit Berl Academic College; March 5, 2013 at Beit Theresienstadt; March 6, 2013 at Beit Lohamei Haghetaot
Deadline for the submission of abstracts: December 6, 2012

Although it is almost seventy years since the end of the Second World War, more and more remarkable women’s life stories are being divulged to the public by means of autobiographies and biographies and scholarly publications on this topic. The Sixth International Conference on Women and the Holocaust will focus on *personal women’s life stories* from gendered perspectives. It will reveal a wide range of *individual stories of women*during and after the Holocaust and will comprise an interesting, original and unique tapestry of women’s experiences. The conference will offer a methodological observation of these stories, that follows divers transference methods, in different voices, different emphasis and through a general analysis of the changes occurring in the female personal story genre on a timeline, and its connection to the changes in the field of Holocaust memory in general.

Purposes of the Conference

• To contribute to comparative, critical and gender research on the Holocaust.
• To introduce innovative thinking to the study of the Holocaust, especially when analyzed from a theoretical and methodological gendered point of view.
• To advance public awareness and interest in gendered issues of Holocaust commemoration.
• To contribute to educational efforts relating to commemorating women’s narratives about the Holocaust.
• To develop international networks of Holocaust scholars on the topic of gender and the Holocaust.
• To broaden the contribution to feminist research on the Holocaust.
• To encourage academic research and public discourse relating to gendered perspectives in the context of women’s life stories during the Holocaust and after.

Optional topics for proposals

• A personal narrative relating to one woman’s role during the Holocaust.
• An individual example of revolution or continuation in women’s traditional function during the Holocaust.
• An individual life story that demonstrates and unveils one woman’s leadership in the spheres of education, fighting, health, arts, research etc., during the Holocaust and with regard to the Holocaust.
• One woman’s self-sacrifice during the Holocaust.
• One observant woman coping with difficulties and obstacles during the Holocaust.
• A personal example of the struggle to maintain feminine identity during the Holocaust.
• A personal narrative about coping with sexual violence during the Holocaust.
• Transference of one woman’s life story from the Holocaust to the second and third generation.

Invitation to Lecture at the Conference

• Scholars in academic fields relevant to the conference subjects: Holocaust studies, history, women’s studies, anthropology, sociology, psychology, education, literature, art, etc., are invited to submit papers. We also invite non-scholars from the fields of literature, cinema and art, whose work is connected to the conference subjects and women Holocaust survivors, whose testimony casts light from various angles on the subjects to be discussed at the conference.

Target Audience

• Scholars, educators and teachers, teachers in continuing education programs, teacher training faculty members from colleges and universities, students, Holocaust memorial institution staff members, researchers, survivors and their descendants, feminist activists, members of women’s organizations, and the general public.

Deadline for the submission of abstracts: *December 6, 2012*.

Please send abstracts to: abstracts@womenandtheholocaust.org

All abstracts must be in English or Hebrew and should be limited to 500 words. Please include your name, professional affiliation, and the paper’s title on the abstract. Additionally, please submit a short CV and contact information (email, telephone, work or home address). Each paper should be limited to a 20-minute presentation, followed by a discussion. All applicants will be notified by *January 7, 2013*, whether accepted or rejected.

To publish the proceedings as a book is planed.

For more information please contact: Dr. Batya Brutin info@womenandtheholocaust.org

Source: H-WOMEN@H-NET.MSU.EDU