MKGD Online Research Colloquium
Program in the Winter Term 2024-25
Flyer Program-Overview WS-2024-25
The language of the presentations will be English or German
Theme: Military, War and Gender/Diversity: State of Research and Research Problems
Monday, October 21, 2024, 4:00 – 6:00 pm CET (10 am-12 pm EST), ZOOM Seminar
Prof. Dr. MARTA HAVRYSHKO
(Clark University)
Gender, World War II in the East, and the Holocaust Revisited
“Gender” is essential for understanding the complexity of World War II and the Holocaust. Firstly, it helps to analyze Nazi racial ideology, antisemitism, and genocidal policies in both the German Reich and Nazi-occupied territories. Secondy, it sheds light on the expectations, perceptions, experiences, and survival strategies of people who represented different types of gender identities in various political, social, and cultural settings during the Nazi era. Finally, it’s critical to understand gender aspects of memory processing, memory narratives, as well as memory politics with regard to the war and the Holocaust in Europe after 1945. This presentation will analyze the establishment and developments of gender studies within WWII and Holocaust studies with a specific accent on Eastern Europe.
MARTA HAVRYSHKO is the Dr. Thomas Zand Visiting Assistant Professor in Holocaust Pedagogy and Antisemitism Studies at the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark University. Her research interests are primarily focused on sexual violence during World War II and the Holocaust, women’s history, feminism, and nationalism. Currently, she is developing a book on sexual violence during the Holocaust in Ukraine.
Presentation in English.
Welcome and Introduction: Prof. Dr. Karen Hagemann (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
Moderation: Prof. Dr. Maren Röger (University of Leipzig, Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe)
Monday, November 11, 2024, 4:00 – 6:00 pm CET (10 am-12 pm EST) ZOOM Seminar
Prof. Dr. ISABEL HEINEMANN
(University of Bayreuth)
Nach dem Krieg: Aushandlungsprozesse um Gewalt, Geschlecht und Gesellschaft in BRD und DDR
(After the War: Negotiation Processes around Violence, Gender and Society in the FRG and the GDR)
After the Second World War, both German states defined themselves in contrast to the Nazi regime of violence. At the same time, gender equality found its way into the Basic Law and the GDR constitution – but was interpreted very differently. Dealing with the consequences of war, violence and war traumatisation, on the other hand, was primarily relegated to the private sphere in both German states. The lecture examines the extent to which the experiences of war and violence shaped the controversial negotiation processes surrounding the gender order in the FRG and GDR and what consequences resulted from this in the context of the Cold War.
ISABEL HEINEMANN holds the Chair of Modern History at the University of Bayreuth. She specialises in the history of the USA and Germany in the 20th century, the Holocaust and Nazi occupation policy in Europe, the history of the American family and the history of knowledge and gender. Her study on the gender history of Germany after 1945 will be published by C.H.Beck Verlag in 2026.
Presentation in German.
Welcome and Introduction: Prof. Dr. Isabelle Deflers (University of the Bundeswehr Munich)
Moderation: PD Dr. Claudia Kemper (LWL Institute for Westphalian Regional History, Münster)
Monday, December 2, 2024, 4:00 – 6:00 pm CET (10 am-12 pm EST) ZOOM Seminar
Prof. Dr. BENNO GAMMERL
(European University Institute Florence)
Queering Military History?
What could such an endeavour entail? Focusing on the queer history of modern Germany (with occasional detours into other regions and periods) the talk will explore possible answers to this question. It will begin by looking at the figure of the soldier as a queer icon: From there it traces the military’s ambivalence between homophobia and homosociality. What changes if we include female same-sex desire and gender diversity into the picture? Taking these aspects into account complexifies the conversation. From this vantage point, the concluding part will then dwell upon whether queering military history also entails opportunities for rethinking the relationship between queer history and the history of violence.
BENNO B. GAMMERLholds the Chair for the History of Gender and Sexuality at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. His main fields of research include queer contemporary history, history of emotions, oral history, intersectional histories. In 2023 he published with Hanser Queer. Eine deutsche Geschichte vom Kaiserreich bis heute
Presentation in English.
Welcome and Introduction: PD Dr. Anke Fischer-Kattner (University of the Bundeswehr Munich)
Moderation: Dr. Friederike Hartung (Bundeswehr Center for Military History and Social Sciences
Monday, February 17, 2025, 4:00 – 6:00 pm CET (10 am-12 pm EST) ZOOM Seminar
PD Dr. EVA HERSCHINGER
(University of the Bundeswehr Munich)
Male, Female, Radicalized? The Interplay of Gender, Radicalization and Terrorism
Although not in the same numbers, women have been involved in terrorism for as long as men. Yet the male terrorist has long been the focus of research on terrorism. The tide began to turn when the so-called Islamic State attracted women on an unprecedented scale and research focused on women’s motivations for joining terrorist groups. Despite this, the presentation argues that a true gender perspective is still lacking – one that reflects on how constructions of femininity and masculinity shape radicalisation and terrorism, and how the gender order of terrorist organisations responds to and builds on these constructions and roles. The presentation develops a gender-sensitive perspective on radicalisation and terrorism, which is needed not only for research, but also for prevention and countering radicalisation and terrorism.
EVA HERSCHINGER is Privatdozentin and Head of the Research Programme “Security and Intelligence” at the Center for Intelligence and Security Studies (CISS) at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich. Her most recent work theorizes the role of gender in terrorism, violent extremism and radicalization.
Presentation in English.
Welcome and Introduction: Prof. Dr. Isabelle Deflers (University of the Bundeswehr Munich)
Moderation: Apl. Prof. Dr. Béatrice Hendrich (University of Cologne)