The German Historical Institutes in Washington and London are organizing an international conference on the history of criminal justice in modern Europe from 1870 to 1990. The conference will take place in Washington DC from September 16 to 18, 2010. The meeting is designed to take stock of recent and current research in this burgeoning field and to facilitate conversation between historians working on different countries in order to provide a comparative perspective on European developments. For this purpose, the conveners are soliciting proposals for papers presenting historical research on the legal, political, cultural, and social history of criminal justice, including but not limited to the following aspects:

• the social and cultural history of criminal justice
• the history of the criminal law and penal policy
• the history of the criminal trial
• the history of penal reform
• the role of gender in criminal justice
• the history of juvenile justice
• the history of prisons
• criminal justice and medicine/science
• criminal justice and the welfare state
• the relationship of criminal justice to political cultures, systems, and ideologies
• criminal justice and the history of the legal profession

Based on the proposals received, the conveners plan to assemble 4-6 panels, each featuring 3-4 papers on different countries addressing a common theme. Comparative papers are, of course, most welcome.

Please email a paper proposal (in English) of no more than 500 words and your curriculum vitae to the two conveners listed below.

The deadline for submission is February 15, 2010.

Applicants will be notified by the end of February. The conference, held in English, will focus on the discussion of pre-circulated papers, which should be ready for distribution by September. Expenses for travel and accommodation will be covered.

Conveners:

Dr. Richard F. Wetzell
German Historical Institute Washington
wetzell@ghi-dc.org

Dr. Kerstin Brückweh
German Historical Institute London
kbrueckweh@ghil.ac.uk