Vol. 6 of Aspasia will focus on the history of International Women’s Day and how it has been celebrated in different social and political contexts in Central, Eastern, and South-Eastern Europe (CESEE).

Deadline: 15 September 2010

On August 26, 1910, at the Second International Conference of Socialist Women in Copenhagen, Clara Zetkin proposed an annual International Women’s Day, with women’s suffrage as its main demand. The first celebrations of International Women’s Day were in 1911 and they expanded in subsequent years. How did International Women’s Day contribute to women’s activism? In addition to women’s suffrage, what other themes became included and how was March 8 used for different political agendas? Which women celebrated it, what were their class backgrounds and political affiliations? How were they organized? What kind of activities took place, and with what kind of institutional support? Were there international exchanges of speakers or women’s groups organized around March 8?

In addition to the overarching international theme, what were the national dimensions or foci of International Women’s Day activities? How was International Women’s Day celebrated in various countries in Central, Eastern, and South-eastern Europe (i.e., including Turkey and Greece) before 1940? How did the authorities react, especially in contexts where socialist activities were suppressed or forbidden? What was the meaning ofInternational Women’s Day in the various countries in the region during state socialism? How were the origins and original goal of International Women’s Day narrated and did that change over time? Within the symbolic and discursive framework of the celebrations of International Women’s Day, what kind of feminine models, symbols, conducts etc., and what kind of gender relations were promoted? To what extent was International Women’s Day perceived and constructed as a global event, relevant not just for women in Europe but in other parts of the world as well? Finally, in the current strong reaction in Europe against “Communism,” has International Women’s Day been relegated to the historical dustbin as well?

In addition to the specific theme of International Women’s Day, we welcome submissions about all topics related to women’s and gender history in CESEE on an on-going basis.

For a future issue we also welcome contributions that focus on various aspects of Women’s Diaries, Memoirs and Correspondence, analyzed in the ontext of the social, political and cultural histories of the region.

Submissions of up to 8,000 words (including notes) can be sent to Francisca de Haan at dehaanf@ceu.hu or Melissa Feinberg at mfeinberg@history.rutgers.edu. For more information, please write to one of the editors or visit http://journals.berghahnbooks.com/asp/.

Francisca de Haan
Central European University, Budapest
dehaanf@ceu.hu

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