The Reluctant Internationalists Project

Professor Helen Graham of Royal Holloway, University of London delivers this keynote lecture on the Spanish Civil War and Transnational Mobilisation. This lecture uses the lives of five individuals to explore the significance of the Spanish Republican cause to the continental wars of social change which took place between 1936 and 1948. Professor Graham also examines what the Spanish Republican defeat of 1939 meant for all five over the long term, as they suffered physical displacement and psychological and existential estrangement. With this in mind, the talk concludes by exploring open questions about what might constitute an honest reckoning today with the history and memory of Spain, and of Europe’s dark mid-twentieth century. The lecture is introduced by Paul Preston (LSE).

The lecture was part of a two-day conference on the international history of the Spanish Civil War organised by the Reluctant Internationalists research project, in collaboration with the Cañada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies at the LSE. Bringing together over thirty scholars from the UK, Europe, the US and further afield, the conference set out to explore the origins and experiences of transnational mobilisation during the conflict and the immediate post-war period.

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Crossing Borders: The Spanish Civil War and Transnational Mobilisation

As part of a workshop hosted by the Reluctant Internationalists research group on Debating the Cold War, Julia Lovell (Birkbeck), Anne Deighton (Oxford), Jussi Hanhimaki (Geneva) and Oscar Sanchez-Sibony (Macau) discuss how global was the Cold War? The panel, chaired by Jessica Reinisch (Birkbeck) address the growing research on the Cold War as a global phenomenon. 

The majority of narratives and frameworks are still focused on the relationship of the United States and the Soviet Union. This panel discussion therefore aims to take stock of the contributions of global history to Cold War historiography. It asks: what conventional Cold War concepts does a global approach reinforce, which ones does it contest? What are the conceptual and methodological challenges of constructing a global history of the Cold War? How does shifting perspectives away from the US-Soviet binary change our understanding of the Cold War, its stakes and the relationship of the two superpowers and to what extent can we leave the binary behind?

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Debating the Cold War: How Global was the Cold War?

As part of a workshop hosted by the Reluctant Internationalists research group on ‘Debating the Cold War’, Polly Jones (Oxford), Anita Prazmowska (LSE), Diana Georgescu (SSEES), Dina Fainberg (Amsterdam) and Anatoly Pinsky (St Petersburg/Helsinki) discuss did ideology matter during the Cold War? The panel, chaired by Ana Antic (Birkbeck) explores the common juxtaposition between the supposed waning significance of ‘ideology’ in the West with the overly rigid ideological regimentation of the East; the notion that while ideology permeated every aspect of private and public lives in the East, the Western private self was shielded from ideological influences, or that there was no dominant political ideology in the West. 

The panel also examines other, partially contradictory, themes from established Cold War narratives including, the rejection of Marxism in Eastern Europe especially among intellectuals after the major disappointments of 1956 or 1968 and the idea that Marxism was never genuinely adopted except by a small number of brainwashed party cadres. 

For more information - bit.ly/2nkGWiQ

Debating the Cold War: Did Ideology Matter?

As part of a workshop hosted by the Reluctant Internationalists research group on ‘Debating the Cold War’, Sandrine Kott (Geneva), Dean Vuletic (EUI), Kristy Ironside (Manchester), Bela Tomka (Szeged) and Peter Romijn (Amsterdam) address the question: was there a welfare state in the East as well as the West? 

The panel, chaired by Johanna Conterio (Birkbeck), explores the thesis, proposed by Jan Gross, Timothy Garton Ash and others, that Communism was based predominantly on repression, the abuse of political power, and a lack of popular legitimacy and ‘freedom’. The discussants examine potential points of comparisons between Western and Eastern states and their responsibilities for their citizens, including interpretations of social security, education, welfare, health care, social mobility, and taxation, and ask about effects and consequences of similarities and differences. As part of this comparative perspective, the panel looks at how Communism was experienced and lived in Eastern Europe, and explore questions surrounding legitimacy and dissent in both East and West.

For more information - http://bit.ly/2nkGWiQ

Debating the Cold War: Was there a Welfare State in the East as well as the West?

As part of a workshop hosted by the Reluctant Internationalists research group on Debating the Cold War, Alma Steingart (Harvard), Jonathan Oldfield (Birmingham), Jon Agar (UCL), Iris Borowy (Shanghai), Sarah Marks (Cambridge), Lukasz Stanek (Manchester) and Waqar Zaidi (Lums) discuss what was Cold War science? The panel, chaired by Dora Vargha (Birkbeck) asks: can we talk about ‘Cold War science’?

Histories of Cold War science and medicine have focused on Big Science, nuclear and atomic science, and space exploration. But science in the two blocks has featured in the historiography in very different terms: on one side stand accounts of Western science funding, the relationships of science and the military, and health effects of nuclear programmes and accidents; on the other, studies of a terrain where science was led astray and corrupted by politics, and marked by crippling shortages of materials and expertise. A “declensionist narrative” of decline, desiccation and degradation (borrowing a term from the environmental historian Diana K. Davis) can be found in accounts of Eastern, but rarely of Western, approaches to knowledge and science. This panel will seek to identify possible ways of comparison, and consider the significance of collaborative projects, shared research agendas and other contact points between scientists from both sides of the Iron Curtain.

For more information – http://bit.ly/2nkGWiQ

Debating the Cold War: What was Cold War Science?

As part of a workshop hosted by the Reluctant Internationalists research group on Debating the Cold War, Piers Ludlow (LSE), Elidor Mehilli (Hunter College, NY) and Angela Neilson-Nagy (Blackheath High School/Birkbeck) discuss the legacies of the Cold War and if it ever really ended. The panel, chaired by Jessica Reinisch (Birkbeck) also address how we understand and communicate the history of the Cold War to younger generations. 

The panel included discussion on the extent to which new historiographical approaches have informed, or, more frequently, failed to inform, current teaching materials and curricula in UK secondary schools. The challenge, panellists agreed, was to integrate the complex, heterogeneous and multi-centred historiography of the Cold War, into a narrative which remained comprehensible and engaging for students and the general public.

For more information – http://bit.ly/2nkGWiQ

Debating the Cold War: The Cold War that Never Ended and the Cold War in the Classroom

As part of a workshop hosted by the Reluctant Internationalists research group on Writing ‘Outsiders’ into the History of International Public Health, Jessica Reinisch (Birkbeck),  Lion Murard (French National Centre for Scientific Research), Yitang Lin and Thomas David (University of Lausanne) and Davide Rodogno (University of Geneva) discussed the political dimensions of international health. The panel, chaired by Dora Vargha (Exeter), addressed the theme of giving and taking in international public health and examined who can be regarded as an ‘outsider’. 

The workshop examined what impact factoring in “outsiders” would make to the way historians write the history of international public health. In addition, the workshop sought to ask what close study of “outsiders” and the processes of marginalisation can tell us about the international system of public health – its rules (written and unwritten), its reach, and its commitment to inclusiveness?

For more information – http://bit.ly/2oYYqjs

Writing Outsiders into the History of International Public Health: Giving and Taking

As part of a workshop hosted by the Reluctant Internationalists research group on Writing ‘Outsiders’ into the History of International Public Health, Susan Gross Solomon (Toronto), Johanna Conterio (Birkbeck) and Sarah Marks (Birkbeck) examined public health in Soviet Russia during the inter-war years. The panel, chaired by Ana Antic (Exeter), fostered discussion on the extent of the performative aspect of ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’ as labels in relation to international gatherings and congresses, as well as to what extent the Soviets can be classified as having truly been ‘outsiders’ during this period.

The workshop examined what impact factoring in “outsiders” would make to the way historians write the history of international public health. In addition, the workshop sought to ask what close study of “outsiders” and the processes of marginalisation can tell us about the international system of public health – its rules (written and unwritten), its reach, and its commitment to inclusiveness?

For more information – http://bit.ly/2oYYqjs

Writing Outsiders into the History of International Public Health: Soviet Russia

As part of a workshop hosted by the Reluctant Internationalists research group on Writing ‘Outsiders’ into the History of International Public Health, David Brydan (Birkbeck), Paul Weindling (Oxford Brookes) and Maria Zarifi (Hellenic Open University) examined the history of public health in the so-called ‘outsider’ states of Franco’s Spain, Nazi Germany, and Greece. The panel, chaired by Johanna Conterio (Birkbeck), also incorporated debate on the centrality of public health to state building and the role of nationalism in international public health.

The workshop examined what impact factoring in “outsiders” would make to the way historians write the history of international public health. In addition, the workshop sought to ask what close study of “outsiders” and the processes of marginalisation can tell us about the international system of public health – its rules (written and unwritten), its reach, and its commitment to inclusiveness?

For more information – http://bit.ly/2oYYqjs

Writing Outsiders into the History of International Public Health: Public Health in Outsider States

As part of a workshop hosted by the Reluctant Internationalists research group on Writing ‘Outsiders’ into the History of International Public Health, Jessica Pearson (Macalester), Dora Vargha (Exeter) and Ana Antic (Exeter) addressed inclusion and exclusion in international health networks. The panel, chaired by David Brydan (Birkbeck), discussed life beyond the WHO, both for colonial powers and for many socialist states. In addition, debate turned to the importance of distinguishing between global public health and international public health.

The workshop examined what impact factoring in “outsiders” would make to the way historians write the history of international public health. In addition, the workshop sought to ask what close study of “outsiders” and the processes of marginalisation can tell us about the international system of public health – its rules (written and unwritten), its reach, and its commitment to inclusiveness?

For more information – http://bit.ly/2oYYqjs

Writing Outsiders into the History of International Public Health: International Health Networks

As part of a workshop hosted by the Reluctant Internationalists research group on Writing ‘Outsiders’ into the History of International Public Health, a roundtable discussion addressed what difference adding outsiders makes to the way historians write the history of public health and the history of internationalism more broadly. The discussion also questioned the adequacy of existing standard narratives of international public health and the ways in which historians can instead tell these narratives from below. The panel, chaired by Jessica Reinisch (Birkbeck), included Susan Gross Soloman (Toronto), Peter Jackson (Glasgow), Paul Weindling (Oxford Brookes) and Patrick Zylberman (EHESP).

The workshop examined what impact factoring in “outsiders” would make to the way historians write the history of international public health. In addition, the workshop sought to ask what close study of “outsiders” and the processes of marginalisation can tell us about the international system of public health – its rules (written and unwritten), its reach, and its commitment to inclusiveness?

For more information – http://bit.ly/2oYYqjs

Writing Outsiders into the History of International Public Health: Internationalism & Public Health

As part of a conference on ‘Languages of Internationalism’, hosted by the Reluctant Internationalists research group, Brigid O’Keefe (Brooklyn College) and Claire Shaw (University of Bristol) discuss the rise and fall of Esperanto in the early Soviet Union and international sign language during the Cold War. The panel, chaired by Humphrey Tonkin (University of Hartford), addresses how international these languages were. 

‘Languages of Internationalism’ aimed to shed light on the centrality of language to people’s pursuit and experiences of internationalism. Language is at the heart of every international enterprise, but as the conference showed, it presents obstacles and dilemmas, as well as opportunities. Many of the papers emphasised frictions and tensions which emerged over the use of languages in international settings. Discussions showed how language could be a tool of communication, solidarity and unity, as well as a force of division and alienation. But the conference also made clear the centrality of language in the performance, experience and pursuit of internationalism.  

For more information – http://bit.ly/2rC0u61

International Languages

As part of a conference on ‘Languages of Internationalism’, hosted by the Reluctant Internationalists research group, Allison Korinek (New York University) and Justin Jackson (New York University) discuss the role of language in constructing the French imperial interpretariat in Algeria, and the work of interpreters in providing local linguistic knowledge during the U.S wars and occupations in Cuba and the Philippines from 1898-1913. The panel, chaired by Ana Antic (University of Exeter) addresses the role of language in constructing empire. 

‘Languages of Internationalism’ aimed to shed light on the centrality of language to people’s pursuit and experiences of internationalism. Language is at the heart of every international enterprise, but as the conference showed, it presents obstacles and dilemmas, as well as opportunities. Many of the papers emphasised frictions and tensions which emerged over the use of languages in international settings. Discussions showed how language could be a tool of communication, solidarity and unity, as well as a force of division and alienation. But the conference also made clear the centrality of language in the performance, experience and pursuit of internationalism.  

For more information – http://bit.ly/2rC0u61

Languages of Empire and its Aftermath

As part of a conference on ‘Languages of Internationalism’, hosted by the Reluctant Internationalists research group, Diana Georgescu (University College London), Pey-Yi Chu (Pomona College), Beatrice Wayne (New York University) and Dina Fainberg (City, University of London) discuss language and communication during the Cold War. The panel, chaired by Dora Vargha (University of Exeter) highlight frictions and tensions which emerged over the use of language in international settings.
 
‘Languages of Internationalism’ aimed to shed light on the centrality of language to people’s pursuit and experiences of internationalism. Language is at the heart of every international enterprise, but as the conference showed, it presents obstacles and dilemmas, as well as opportunities. Discussions showed how language could be a tool of communication, solidarity and unity, as well as a force of division and alienation. But the conference also made clear the centrality of language in the performance, experience and pursuit of internationalism.

For more information - http://bit.ly/2rC0u61

Cold War(Mis-)Communication

As part of a conference on ‘Languages of Internationalism’, hosted by the Reluctant Internationalists research group, Marc Volovici (Princeton University), Nick Underwood (University of Colorado Boulder) and Carmen Mangion (Birkbeck) discuss the search for a shared language in relation to the examples of German as a Zionist lingua franca, Yiddish in interwar Paris, and the language of governance amongst Catholic networks and communities. The panel, chaired by David Brydan (Birkbeck), addresses how shared these languages were. 

‘Languages of Internationalism’ aimed to shed light on the centrality of language to people’s pursuit and experiences of internationalism. Language is at the heart of every international enterprise, but as the conference showed, it presents obstacles and dilemmas, as well as opportunities. Many of the papers emphasised frictions and tensions which emerged over the use of languages in international settings. Discussions showed how language could be a tool of communication, solidarity and unity, as well as a force of division and alienation. But the conference also made clear the centrality of language in the performance, experience and pursuit of internationalism.  

For more information – http://bit.ly/2rC0u61

Searching for a Shared Language

As part of a conference on ‘Languages of Internationalism’, hosted by the Reluctant Internationalists research group, Jocelyn Olcott (Duke University), Christine Vargha-Harris (Illinois State University – discussion only) and Emma Lundin (Birkbeck) examine the language adopted by international feminist movements in relation to the examples of the 1975 International Women’s Year conference and Swedish and South African political activists from 1968-1994. The panel, chaired by Philippa Hetherington (University College London), addresses how shared these languages were and the extent to which language difficulties were a hindrance at international events. 

‘Languages of Internationalism’ aimed to shed light on the centrality of language to people’s pursuit and experiences of internationalism. Language is at the heart of every international enterprise, but as the conference showed, it presents obstacles and dilemmas, as well as opportunities. Many of the papers emphasised frictions and tensions which emerged over the use of languages in international settings. Discussions showed how language could be a tool of communication, solidarity and unity, as well as a force of division and alienation. But the conference also made clear the centrality of language in the performance, experience and pursuit of internationalism.  

For more information – http://bit.ly/2rC0u61

The Languages of International Feminism

As part of a conference on ‘Languages of Internationalism’, hosted by the Reluctant Internationalists research group, Heidi Tworek (University of British Columbia), Humphrey Tonkin (University of Hartford), Lisa McEntree-Atalianis (Birkbeck) and Sebastian Gehrig (Oxford) discuss language and expertise across international organisations in relation to the League of Nations, United Nations, and the states of East and West Germany. The panel, chaired by Jessica Reinisch (Birkbeck), addresses the emergence and uses of language within these organisations. 

‘Languages of Internationalism’ aimed to shed light on the centrality of language to people’s pursuit and experiences of internationalism. Language is at the heart of every international enterprise, but as the conference showed, it presents obstacles and dilemmas, as well as opportunities. Many of the papers emphasised frictions and tensions which emerged over the use of languages in international settings. Discussions showed how language could be a tool of communication, solidarity and unity, as well as a force of division and alienation. But the conference also made clear the centrality of language in the performance, experience and pursuit of internationalism.  

For more information – http://bit.ly/2rC0u61

Language and Expertise in International Organisations

As part of a conference on ‘Languages of Internationalism’, hosted by the Reluctant Internationalists research group, Katherine Reischl (Princeton University) and Yuliya Komska (Dartmouth College) examine practices of translating across borders, focusing on the publishing histories of M. Il’in’s The Story of the Great Plan and H.A. and Margret Rey’s Curious George. The panel, chaired by Sophie Heywood (University of Reading), addresses how publishers viewed images and languages as mediums which could be easily translated across borders. 

‘Languages of Internationalism’ aimed to shed light on the centrality of language to people’s pursuit and experiences of internationalism. Language is at the heart of every international enterprise, but as the conference showed, it presents obstacles and dilemmas, as well as opportunities. Many of the papers emphasised frictions and tensions which emerged over the use of languages in international settings. Discussions showed how language could be a tool of communication, solidarity and unity, as well as a force of division and alienation. But the conference also made clear the centrality of language in the performance, experience and pursuit of internationalism.  

For more information – bit.ly/2rC0u61

Reading and Translating Across Borders

As part of a conference on ‘Languages of Internationalism’, hosted by the Reluctant Internationalists research group, Dora Vargha (University of Exeter), Elidor Mëhilli (Hunter College) and Rachel Applebaum (Tufts University – recorded in discussion only) examine the languages of socialist internationalism. The panel, chaired by Johanna Conterio (Flinders University), addresses languages of health and disease in Hungary, the power of Russian in Albania, and Russian as a foreign language in Cold War Czechoslovakia. 

‘Languages of Internationalism’ aimed to shed light on the centrality of language to people’s pursuit and experiences of internationalism. Language is at the heart of every international enterprise, but as the conference showed, it presents obstacles and dilemmas, as well as opportunities. Many of the papers emphasised frictions and tensions which emerged over the use of languages in international settings. Discussions showed how language could be a tool of communication, solidarity and unity, as well as a force of division and alienation. But the conference also made clear the centrality of language in the performance, experience and pursuit of internationalism.  

For more information – bit.ly/2rC0u61

Languages of Socialist Internationalism

In the concluding session of the conference on ‘Languages of Internationalism’, hosted by the Reluctant Internationalists research group, members of the project both past and present reflect on how language can be a tool of communication, solidarity and unity, as well as a force of division and alienation. Participants included: Jessica Reinisch (Birkbeck), Dora Vargha (University of Exeter), Brigid O’Keefe (Brooklyn College), Johanna Conterio (Flinders University), Ana Antic (University of Exeter), David Brydan (Birkbeck), Heidi Tworek (University of British Columbia), and Elidor Mëhilli (Hunter College).

‘Languages of Internationalism’ aimed to shed light on the centrality of language to people’s pursuit and experiences of internationalism. Language is at the heart of every international enterprise, but as the conference showed, it presents obstacles and dilemmas, as well as opportunities. Many of the papers emphasised frictions and tensions which emerged over the use of languages in international settings. Discussions showed how language could be a tool of communication, solidarity and unity, as well as a force of division and alienation. But the conference also made clear the centrality of language in the performance, experience and pursuit of internationalism.

For more information - bit.ly/2rC0u61

Languages of Internationalism – Roundtable Discussion

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