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(Fwd) Call for papers
( LABNET October 2000 )
"Aad Blok"
Oct 19, 2000 16:27:28
Klaus Misgeld <> sends us this
interesting announcment. AB
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Alva Myrdal’s Questions to Our Time
An International Conference in Uppsala, Sweden, 7-8 March 2002
Call for papers
Alva Myrdal stands out as a main contributor to the development of
progressive thought in the 20th century not only in Sweden but
internationally. Alva Myrdal, born in Uppsala, Sweden, in 1902,
combined family life and a professional career with a life-long
commitment to politics and social science. With exceptional
energy and clarity of mind, she approached some of the most
burning questions of 20th century society. Alva Mydal exibited a
modern attitude towards life - when facing the many dilemmas of
modern life, she always asked ‘What is to be done?’ and then
looked for solutions that were both rational and just.
In March 2002, we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth
of Alva Myrdal with an international interdisciplinary conference at
Uppsala University, Sweden. In a number of workshops and plenary
sessions, we will focus on three main themes that interested Alva
Myrdal throughout her life: women’s emancipation, social
engineering and the peace question.
The first two themes, women’s emancipation and social
engineering, are constants in Alva Myrdal’s work and thinking. We
find them in the 1930s and 1940s, when she took part in the
shaping of the modern ”Swedish model”. In particular, Alva Myrdal
devoted her time to issues of social policy, gender equality and
population decline. Her agenda included an attempt to formulate a
socio-political basis for a modern family policy that made it
possible for women to combine the different demands of family,
politics and salaried work. She was also involved in the
development of new educational models, that emphasised the
needs and capabilities of the individual child. In her view, the
reshaping of society involved individual liberation as well as social
adaption.
After the Second World War, Alva Myrdal entered the international
arena, where she was able to develop her interest in sociopolitical
issues at the UN and UNESCO. In the period 1955 to 1961, she
was Sweden’s ambassador to India, a position that intensified her
interest in the situation of Third World countries. From 1961
onwards, issues of peace and disarmament increasingly occupied
her time, and in the 1960s and 1970s, she played a prominent role
in international disarmament negotiations. Her basic assumption
was that ”reason must prevail” and that democracy and economic
development must run parallel with one another. Alva Myrdal
received Einstein’s first peace prize in 1980 and the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1982.
Back in Sweden in the early 1960s, Alva Myrdal renewed her
interest in domestic politics. Her deep commitment to social
equality complemented the new radical wave of the 1960s and
1970s. She developed her profound interest in the relationship
between policymaking and social science, in particular with regard
to futures studies. To Alva Myrdal, it was of key importance to
promote a more intense dialogue between social scientists and
policymakers, since she regarded science and reason as essential
elements in modern democracies.
During her lifetime, Alva Myrdal struggled to understand and to
resolve some of the most important dilemmas of modern 20th
century societies: the emancipation of women social engineering
the peace question We welcome papers that deal with these
dilemmas either from a historical point of view or from the
perspective of our own time. We also expect that within all three
themes the relationship between social science and policymaking
will be dealt with as a crosscutting dimension.
Plenary speakers planned:
Professor Yvonne Hirdman on modern reason (and its enemies)
Professor Alice Kessler-Harris on social policy in USA and Sweden
Professor Martha Nussbaum on feminism and universalism
Professor Lena Sommestad on attitudes toward the future
Professor Peter Wallensteen on Alva Myrdal and the peace issue
TIME AND PLACE
7 - 8 March 2002 at Uppsala University, Sweden
Coordinators:
Labour Movement Archives and Library, Stockholm
(Arbetarrörelsens arkiv och bibliotek)
http://www.algonet.se/~arabf
National Institute for Working Life, Stockholm/Norrköping
(Arbetslivsinstitutet)
Institute for Futures Studies, Stockholm (Institutet för
framtidsstudier)
http://www.framtidsstudier.se
Department of Peace and Conflict Research,
Uppsala University (Institutet för freds- och konfliktsforskning)
http://www.peace.uu.se
Call for papers:
We invite scholars from a broad range of disciplines to present
papers. Please send an abstract (1/2 page) + a short CV to:
Sabina Nilsson, Institute for Futures Studies, P.O. Box 591,
SE101 31 Stockholm, Sweden; or :
until 1 of April 2001
Notification of acceptance: 30th of may 2001
Paper due: 7th January 2002
We are planning to publish a selected numbers of papers in a
conference report. The number of participants may be limited; those
presenting papers have priority.
Language: The conference language will be
English.Costs:Participation at the conference is free of cost.
However, travel and hotel must be paid for by the participants.
Program committee:
Yvonne Hirdman (National Institute of Working Life and History
Department; University of Stockholm),
Klaus Misgeld (Labour Movement Archives and Library),
Lena Sommestad (Institute for Futures Studies),
Peter Wallensteen (Department of Peace and Conflict Research,
UppsalaUniversity),
Cecilia Åse (National Institute of Working Life and Department of
Political Science),
Lisa Öberg (History Department, Södertörns Högskola),
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