The 20th Graduate Annual   
Conference in European History  

‘The absurd, with its rupture of rationality - of conventional ways of seeing the world - is in fact an accurate and a productive way of understanding the world.’ - William Kentridge

 

What do an earthquake, a war, and the abolition of serfdom have in common? Ruptures can be experienced individually, locally, nationally, or globally, calling into question what is normal, natural, or everyday. As a metaphor, rupture carries more emotive weight than other descriptors like ‘transformation’ or ‘turning point’: it suggests a break in the perceived historical order, a crumbling of what once felt solid, a shock to the system - or a long-awaited breakthrough to a desired future. Moments of rupture can be experienced as catastrophe, but they can also represent opportunities for creativity, innovation, and adaptation, inspiring new ideas, communities, and ways of connecting with people and the environment. 

 

In a moment felt by many as one of historical rupture, the 20th Annual Graduate Conference in European History invites graduate students working on any topic or period in European history and/or Europe in the world to submit papers on this theme. How do we define instances of sudden or extreme change in history? What events culminate in the tearing apart of previous systems? And what comes after? How have narratives of rupture changed over time? How productive is rupture as a concept for thinking historically?