Call for Applications: ComFas Summer School  on “Fascism, Antisemitism and the Holocaust: Theory, Methodology, and Case Studies,” Rijeka, University of Rijeka,9-14 July 2023 

Call for Applications: 

ComFas Summer School  on “Fascism, Antisemitism and the Holocaust: Theory, Methodology, and Case Studies,” Rijeka, University of Rijeka,9-14 July 2023 

The event is organized by the International Association for Comparative Fascist Studies (COMFAS), Pasts Inc., Center for Historical Studies, Central European University, Vienna, in cooperation with the University of Rijeka.

Directors:Constantin Iordachi, CEU PU, Vienna, Austria; and Lovro Kralj, University of Rijeka, Croatia.

The summer school aims to provide a systematic introduction into the history of fascism, antisemitism, and the Holocaust. Although these impactful phenomena of the twentieth century were deeply entangled, they have been most often analyzed as part of distinct research fields. The summer school will introduce the participants to recent theories and methods in the fields of comparative fascist studies, and the history of antisemitism and the Holocaust, with a focus on their entanglements. We will explore the advantages, as well as the challenges, in integrating specific methods from the three fields of studies. The summer school will focus on the following topics and questions, approached from pan-European, transnational, and comparative perspectives:

• How can fascism studies contribute to the debate among scholars of antisemitism who emphasizelongue duréecontinuities (the “eternalism thesis”) leading to the Holocaust, on the one hand, and those who emphasize discontinuities (the “contextualism thesis”), on the other?
• How did fascist ideologies, movements, and regimes contribute to the radicalization of antisemitism in Europe?
• How was antisemitism integrated with other elements of the fascist ideology?Did antisemitism function as an ideological ‘glue’ which enhanced the coherence of fascist ideology?

• What are the similarities and differences in antisemitic policies among various fascist regimes? How do they compare to those of non-fascist—conservatives and authoritarians—regimes?
• What functions did antisemitism perform in various fascist ideologies, movements and regimes? We will examine the multifaceted nature of antisemitism and the ways in which it facilitated international fascist cooperation and the mobilization of new members.
• How was antisemitism entangled with other groups identified as “unwanted” in the imagined fascist utopia, such as political opponents or other ethnic, religious, “racial,” or sexual minorities? Did antisemitism generate new venues of persecution of “Others,” orvice versa?

• How did the specific forms of fascist mobilization, and regime consolidation influence the decision-making process regarding the persecution of Jews and the Holocaust?
• How can the integration of methods from studies of fascism and perpetrator studies enhance our understanding of the participation of “ordinary men” in the mass murder and genocide during World War II?
• We will also encourage participants to rethink collaboration and autonomy in the decision-making behind the Holocaust in Europe.

   

Summer school modules will be taught by leading practitioners in these fields. Lecturers include: Antonio Costa-Pinto, University of Lisbon, Portugal; Roger Griffin, Emeritus Professor, Oxford Brooks University; Constantin Iordachi, CEU PU, Vienna, Austria; Aristotle Kallis, Keele University, UK; and Lovro Kralj, University of Rijeka , Croatia.

How to apply  

We welcome applications from advanced BA, MA and doctoral students as well as from post-doctoral fellows (max. five years after their defense). Students interested in attending the summer school should send a short statement of research and a short bio to comfassummerschool2023@comfas.org no later than 30 April 2023. For further information, please contact the organizers at iordachinc@ceu.edu and lovro.kralj@uniri.hr

All participants will be granted tuition waver, free accommodation, an electronic reading pack, and tickets to the inaugural and farewell dinners. They are responsible for traveling to and from Rijeka, for covering their meals and incidentals, and for paying a registration fee of 100 EUR. Online attendance is also possible for a small group of selected participants against the registration fee. 

 The International Association for Comparative Fascist Studies is a nonprofit and nonpolitical scholarly organization dedicated to the comparative and transnational study of fascism. The Association is open to graduate students, researchers, and professors at whatever stage of their career. Its aim is to promote new multi-disciplinary research approaches to this field, in a joint effort of scholars from various disciplines and historiographical traditions. COMFAS is based at Pasts, Inc. Center for Historical Studies, at the Central European University, Vienna. The Association works in close cooperation with the open-access peer-reviewed journal Fascism. Journal of Comparative Fascist Studies (Brill). 

University of Rijeka has recently profiled itself as one of the leading institutions in Holocaust, fascism, and antisemitism studies in Croatia. Since 2020, the University offers a variety of courses dedicated to the history of the mentioned phenomena. The University of Rijeka is a partner of the Claims Conference in promoting Holocaust education in the region within the framework of the University Partnership Program in Holocaust Studies. Moreover, it hosts a major research project which aims to strengthen research, education, and memory about the Holocaust through digital humanities, and plans to open a Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies in the near future.