{"id":84247,"date":"2026-01-28T02:21:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T01:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/salon21.univie.ac.at\/?p=84247"},"modified":"2026-02-06T09:25:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T08:25:06","slug":"cfp-history-up-for-debate-literature-storytelling-and-the-imagined-past-07-2026-salzburg-by-02-02-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salon21.univie.ac.at\/?p=84247","title":{"rendered":"CfP: History up for Debate: Literature, Storytelling and the Imagined Past (07\/2026, Salzburg); by: 02.02.2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Salzburg Conferences on English Literature and Culture (SEC)<\/b> (Web)<\/a><\/p>\n

Time: 01.-02.07.2026
\nVenue: Univ. of Salzburg, Department of English and American Studies
\nProposals by: 02.02.2026<\/p>\n

While it has long been a truism that ‚all history is contemporary history‘ (Benedetto Croce), i.e., shaped by contemporary concerns and values, recent and present-day politics have moved this insight very much to the forefront. History \u2013 in both public and popular forms \u2013 is (currently) highly topical, publicly contested and used for partisan aims. In the UK, for instance, the memory of the Second World War, which for decades has been an important aspect of British identity constructions, was used extensively in the Brexit debates with the promise that Britain would stand once more proudly ‚alone‘, thus re-experiencing some of its former greatness (see Noakes 2023; Henneb\u00f6hl 2023). In the US, the current administration is taking active influence on the way history is presented in public museums and institutions, reinterpreting the significance of historic events like the Civil War to serve its own political agenda. Conversely, in British crime fiction series such as The Sister Boniface Mysteries, the 1950s and early 1960s have been rediscovered as a period characterised by colourful, stylish clothes, extraordinary wall papers and strangely quirky technology, while omitting the undoubtedly rampant racism and homophobia of these years. Instead, the past is made to look liberal and enlightened, confirming the audience in its current moral values and attitudes \u2013 a purpose which popular history formats have served since at least the nineteenth century (see Jordanova 2010: Ch 6).
\nGiven that the past, and the narratives and stories we shape of it, seem thus particularly contested and controversial at the present moment, this conference aims to explore the literary and filmic narratives (in the form of historical novels, costume drama, documentaries, life writing, biofiction, biopics, etc.) in which we shape history for the wider public and the ends to which these are used. Based on the assumption that storytelling is not only a fundamental way in which humans orient themselves in the world but also a potent means of shaping reality, these narratives‘ role as a means of creating a desirable present and future will also be examined.
\nThe conference thus aims to examine various aspects of storytelling and the past. We want to look at specific examples of how the past is shaped to fit the present, for instance, to shape and confirm (national) identities, to support liberal or conservative gender roles, or to substantiate political claims and agendas. In addition, we would also like to explore the specific attractions and advantages that different genres may offer to this end, for instance, by seemingly suggesting greater ‚truth effects‘ (cf. Frow 2005: 2) or, as studies on the flourishing genre of biofiction highlight, by offering a more imaginative access by speculating on historic characters‘ thoughts and feelings (see e.g. the articles in Boldrini et al. 2025).
\nAs it is organised by the Department of English and American Studies at the Univ. of Salzburg, the conference focuses particularly on English-language novels, drama, performance, films, TV series and various forms of life-writing, but we also welcome examples from other countries, languages and historical cultural traditions with the end of exploring the manifold popular uses of the past. Equally, we are interested in both contemporary and historical examples of politicised uses of the past in popular historical forms. Part of the conference is dedicated to workshops for teachers focusing on how accounts and narratives of the past shape our understanding of history that examine strategies to help students question representations of the past, reflect on different perspectives, and connect historical themes to contemporary issues.<\/p>\n

Topics may include, but are not limited to:
\n\u2013 (national) myths and nation-building in historical literatures
\n\u2013 resurrecting marginalised voices
\n\u2013 present and historical uses of (identity) politics in historical novels, period drama, biography, biofiction, etc.
\n\u2013 re-telling \/ staging past resistance (literary and theatrical renderings of significant protests, political movements, etc.)
\n\u2013 historical imaginings as a means of resistance and subversion
\n\u2013 historical storytelling and genre
\n\u2013 processes of remembering and forgetting \/ literary dementia studies and memory
\n\u2013 historical storytelling and memory
\n\u2013 the ethical dimensions of fictionalizing the past: invention vs. accuracy
\n\u2013 documentary theatre and verbatim theatre: staging the ‚true‘ past
\n\u2013 intersections of myth, folklore, and historical accounts
\n\u2013 genre boundaries: historical fiction, autofiction, speculative and alternative histories
\n\u2013 the role of desire in shaping representations of the past
\n\u2013 embodied past in performance
\n\u2013 the role of paratext in historical fiction (afterwords, author’s note, inclusion of archival material, …)
\n\u2013 historical storytelling and the archive
\n\u2013 the use of the past (e.g. documentary, mockumentary, historical fiction, television, and film) in the (language) classroom<\/p>\n

Proposals (max. 250 words) for 20-minute papers or 90-minute teacher workshops with a short bio note (max. 150 words) are due 2nd February 2026. Papers and workshops must be presented in English. Please submit proposals in our online form: https:\/\/secsrv.sbg.ac.at\/sec26\/<\/a>
\nAcceptances will go out by late February. In case of questions, please contact: salzburgenglishconferences@plus.ac.at<\/p>\n

References
\nBoldrini, Laura et al. (2025). The Routledge Companion to Biofiction. Routledge.
\nFrow, John. (2005). Genre. The New Critical Idiom. Routledge.
\nHenneb\u00f6hl, Dennis. (2023). Taking Back Control‘ of the Nation and Its History? Contemporary Fiction’s Engagement with Nostalgia in Brexit Britain. Inter\/Media 21. Brill.
\nJordanova, Ludmilla. (2010). History in Practice. 2nd ed. Arnold.
\nNoakes, Lucy. (2023). War and the British: Gender, Memory and National Identity 1939-1991. Revised Edition. Bloomsbury Academic.<\/p>\n

Source: Biographieforschung@lists.univie.ac.at<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Salzburg Conferences on English Literature and Culture (SEC) (Web) Time: 01.-02.07.2026 Venue: Univ. of Salzburg, Department of English and American Studies Proposals by: 02.02.2026 While it has long been a truism that ‚all history is contemporary history‘ (Benedetto Croce), i.e., shaped by contemporary concerns and values, recent and present-day politics have moved this insight very […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-calls-for-papers","category-networks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/salon21.univie.ac.at\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/salon21.univie.ac.at\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/salon21.univie.ac.at\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salon21.univie.ac.at\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salon21.univie.ac.at\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=84247"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/salon21.univie.ac.at\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84256,"href":"https:\/\/salon21.univie.ac.at\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84247\/revisions\/84256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/salon21.univie.ac.at\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=84247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salon21.univie.ac.at\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=84247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salon21.univie.ac.at\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=84247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}