Identities are various: personal, national, religious, regional, racial, gender etc., and it is very difficult to determine which identity is affecting us most. Sometimes it can be one, and sometimes the other. For example, during the presidential race in the United States between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, black women wondered which of the two identities represented them most: their racial or their gender identity.

National identity bears huge relevance and people are willing to die for their nations. Religious is as important as ever, and people are willing to sacrifice their own comforts and sometimes even to discriminate others because of their religious identities. European identity had been an issue of debate since the foundation of the EU when founders envisaged European unification based on a particular set of values shared among founders and prospective future members.

The notion of identity is often ending up in stereotyping and othering of those who have different identities, and irrespective of the approach we take in identity studies we always end up with the same dilemma: why are identities and identifications so important?

These and other issues will be a subject of our conference. Panels are invited (but not limited to) for the following panels:

• Identity and Identifications: theory and methodology

• Identity and Nationalism

• Gender identity

• Literature and Identity

• Music and Identity

• Art and Identity

• Religion and Identity

• Ethnicity and Identity

• Media and Identity

• European identity

• Identity and Memory

• Identity and Critical theory

• Marxist views of Identity

Prospective participants are also welcome to submit proposals for their own panels.

Submissions of abstracts (up to 500 words), short bios (up to 100 words), and email contact should be sent to Dr Martina Topić (martina@socialsciencesandhumanities.com) by 20th June 2014. Decisions will be made by 25th June 2014, and payment of the conference fee has to be made by 30th June 2014.  Panel proposals should be sent by 15th May 2014. When we receive four or five quality papers for a whole panel, we will send notification of acceptance earlier.

Finalised Conference programme will be available by 15th July 2014. Early decisions are available for participants with EU visa requirements, and for panel proposals.

Participants should indicate in their applications whether they would like to chair one of the existing panels (if not proposing their own panel) and whether they plan to submit a paper for publication.

The Centre plans to establish a peer review journal, as well as publish working papers and edited volumes. Conference papers will be considered for publication.

We welcome paper proposals from scholars, NGO activists, Master and PhD students, and independent researchers.

Conference fee is EUR 290, and it includes

- The registration fee

- Conference bag and folder with materials

- Conference publication

- Access to the newsletter, and electronic editions of the Centre

- Opportunity for participating in future activities of the Centre (research & co-editing proceedings)

- Discount towards participation fee for future conferences

- Conference drinks (mineral water and fruit juice)

- Coffee-break morning with drinks and pastries

- Buffet Lunch

- Coffee-break afternoon with drinks and pastries

- Buffet Dinner

- WLAN during the conference

- Conference rate for rooms at Hotel Ambassador

- Certificate of attendance

Centre for Research in Humanities and Social Sciences is a private institution founded in December 2013 in Croatia (EU).

We selected Austria as a place for hosting conferences due to Austria’s favourable geographic position, and liberal Visa regime for conference participants with EU Visa requirements.

Unfortunately, the Centre has no available funds for covering transport and accommodation in Austria. Participants are responsible for finding funding to cover transportation and accommodation costs during the whole period of the conference.

The Centre will not discriminate based on the origin and/or methodological/paradigmatic approach of prospective conference participants.

Conference drinks, coffee breaks, lunches and dinners are covered for both days of the conference.

Contact:
 

Dr Martina Topić

Research associate

Centre for Research in Social Sciences and Humanities

Viktora Kovačića 5

HR - 10 010 Zagreb

Croatia