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Conference
International Conference on Women in War
Organizers
Yana Hashamova, Associate Professor of Slavic Studies, Film Studies, Women’s Studies and Comparative Studies, The Ohio State University
Helena Goscilo, Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of Pittsburgh
Friday-Saturday, Oct. 26-27, 2007
Mershon Center for International Security Studies
1501 Neil Ave., Columbus, OH 43201
The International Conference on Women in War explores the role of women in war from World War II to the present. The conference focuses geographically on Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and the Soviet Union, and the Balkans; and historically on World War II, the wars in Afghanistan (1979-1989) and secessionist Chechnya (1994-96, 1999-present), and the Bosnia/Croatia/Serbia war (1992-95).
This meeting at The Ohio State University is the first part of the conference and will emphasize more recent military conflicts (Afghanistan, Chechnya, and the Balkans). The second part, being held at University of Pittsburgh, will focus on World War II.
This interdisciplinary conference engages political ideology, history, sociology, psychology, cultural studies, cinema, and literature, asking questions such as:
- What is the role of women in war or military conflicts beyond the well-studied victimization?
- Can the often contradictory expectations of women and their traditional roles be (re)thought and (re)constructed?
- What is the significance that two of the most conflict-wracked parts of the world in recent years -- the Balkans and Central Asia -- share the legacies of the Soviet system, and what is the consequence of these legacies for women in times of war?
More generally, the conference will look at efforts in the humanities and social sciences to develop a discourse on the subject of the mother, and through it, a reinterpretation of the position of the father in modern culture. As a way of revisiting the nature and origin of social bonds, this discourse makes possible a political response to new challenges in, for example, the modern clash of religions and the ghettoizing of communities. In other words, one of the goals is to tackle the function of women and mothers in the clash between Islam and Christianity in the Balkans, Chechnya, and Central Asia.
Another goal of the conference is to produce a volume of selected essays that address the question of gender polarization and politicization during times of war, re-think gender identities and positions in religious and military clashes, and elaborate a discourse on the subject of motherhood and fatherhood in war. In this way, the conference will help unravel problems related to violent conflict, identity, and security.
For more information, including a conference schedule and registration procedures, see the conference website.
Co-Sponsors
Center for Slavic and East European Studies, Office of International Affairs, College of Humanities, Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Literatures, Department of Comparative Studies, Department of Film Studies, Center for the Study of Religions, Department of Women's Studies, Women in Development, and Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at The Ohio State University.
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Yana Hashamova
Associate Professor of Slavic Studies, Film Studies, Women’s Studies and Comparative Studies
The Ohio State University
Helena Goscilo
Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures
University of Pittsburgh
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