As the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War approaches, this conference seeks to re-evaluate the experiences and roles played by France during the war and its lead-up. Its aim is to explore France in the Second World War from a global as well as domestic perspective, including the interwar years of shifting foreign relations, international entanglements, political upheaval and military build-up. What new approaches might scholars bring to the history of the Vichy regime, collaboration, resistance, liberation, and the German and Italian occupations of France and Corsica? How have historians’ understandings of the roles played by the French colonial empire and colonial forces changed? How might international, transnational or comparative approaches contribute towards developing new avenues of research in this area?

Argument

As the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War approaches, this conference seeks to re-evaluate the experiences and roles played by France during the war and its lead-up. Its aim is to explore France in the Second World War from a global as well as domestic perspective, including the interwar years of shifting foreign relations, international entanglements, political upheaval and military build-up. What new approaches might scholars bring to the history of the Vichy regime, collaboration, resistance, liberation, and the German and Italian occupations of France and Corsica? How have historians’ understandings of the roles played by the French colonial empire and colonial forces changed? How might international, transnational or comparative approaches contribute towards developing new avenues of research in this area? How have military histories of the preparations for war, the defeat of 1940, the defence of French colonies, and the liberation been informed by these new approaches? 

This conference aims to bring together scholars working in the fields of military, political, cultural, diplomatic, international, colonial, transnational, and comparative history, and encourages inter-disciplinary contributions. We invite proposals for 20-25 minute papers on any aspect of the conference theme. Proposals for panels of two or three papers are particularly welcome.

Submission guidelines

Paper proposals should comprise an abstract of no more than 300 words and a one-page CV. Please send proposals to Dr Karine Varley at: Karine.Varley@strath.ac.uk and Robert von Maier at: globalwarstudies@gmail.com by

3 November 2014

University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, 2-3 July 2015 in conjunction with Global War Studies 

Organisers

• Dr Karine Varley
• Dr Rogelia Pastor-Castro

Scientific Committee

• Karine Varley,
• Rogelia Pastor-Castro,
• Robert von Maier

Keynote Speakers

• Talbot Imlay (Université Laval)
• Peter Jackson (University of Glasgow)
• Olivier Wieviorka (Ecole Normale Supérieur de Cachan)

Website: http://tinyurl.com/o46cdg7 

Twitter: @FranceWW2Global      #FranceWW2Global                                                         

The conference proceedings will be published as a special issue of Global War Studies, and may include an edited volume (monograph) as well. Submissions for the proceedings should be received by 15 October 2015.