Gelebt, erinnert und erforscht? – 1968 auf dem Weg vom kommunikativen zum kulturellen Gedächtnis

1st Conference of the
International Research Forum Protest Protest Movements,
Activism and Social Dissent (IFK Protest)

July 9-10, 2004 at the University of Heidelberg

Conveners: Martin Klimke, Department of History, University of Heidelberg
                 Joachim Scharloth, German Department, University of Zurich

The protest movements of the 1960s continue to capture our imagination. The decade is commonly remembered as an era of global change, a historical caesura, culturally as well as politically. In numerous countries, images of protest, generational revolt, countercultural indulgence, sexual liberation, and government repression are circulating in the public perception of those years. However, as archives gradually open, the decade and especially its protest movement increasingly become the focus of historical research. In particular, a new generation of scholars born during or after the sixties are pressing to overcome the stalemate between alternate recollections of former activists and their adversaries. This shift can not only be seen in the field of historiography, but also in disciplines such as political science, sociology, literature, and linguistics which point to a plethora of previously neglected aspects of that decade. The Interdisciplinary Young Scholars Forum “Protest Movements” thus wants to provide a forum for young academics and their new approaches to historicize and deal scientifically with the social movements of the 1960s.

To this end, a series of international conferences wants to foster the academic exchange and discussion about innovative research projects and methods in this area. The goal of the conferences will be to assemble interested young academics from various disciplines to give them the opportunity to offer their work to peers and to open it up for critical debate. The first conference will take place from July 9-10 at the University of Heidelberg entitled „Gelebt, erinnert und erforscht? – 1968 auf dem Weg vom kommunikativen zum kulturellen Gedächtnis,“ followed by a second at the University of Zurich, Switzerland in the spring of 2005. Furthermore it is planned, if sufficient interest exists, to institutionalize the forum as a permanent platform of exchange and discussion for young academics.

An important procedural form of the conferences will be the chance to present and discuss individual research projects and results as well as work-in-progress in an interdisciplinary environment. To guarantee sufficient room for mutual exchange, the time for discussions will always exceed the duration of the oral presentations. However, the conferences are not designed for project presentations exclusively, but will focus on smaller thematic units as well. The following sections are planned for the first meeting:

Archival Resources:
In this section the holdings, collections and organization of various archives dealing with protest in the 1960s will be discussed. The aim is to exchange information concerning the access to certain sources and report on the work condition in the archives themselves. Of special interest will be the history of individual archives, because of their often rather close intertwinement with the protest movements’ own history.

Sources:
Different types of documents and sources will be critically analyzed with regard to their heuristic potential and problems.

Methodology:
Methodological approaches from various disciplines will be discussed and tested concerning their advantages for certain research problems and questions.

Traditions:
A critical debate with the previous research on the protest movements of the 1960s will be held with reference to selected major works in this field.

Disciplines & Project Presentations:
Latest approaches and research results in the various disciplines will be presented in smaller overviews. This section will serve as one major impulse for interdisciplinary exchange during the conference.

Relevance:
Of particular importance will be a discussion on the current situation of 1960s research and its function in society, positioning in public debates as well as attitudes towards today’s protest movements and their historical roots.

   Joachim Scharloth         Martin Klimke
   German Department       History Department
   University of Zurich        University of Heidelberg
   Switzerland                   Germany  

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