We are pleased to share this CfP for a conference that piques our interest. There should be scope for papers with a built heritage focus, as evidenced in the just concluding exhibit on the villas of Jews in the spa resort of Baden near Vienna.
Resorts, Spas, and Sommerfrische: Jewish Cultures of Rest and Recreation
Location: Bad Aussee, Austria
Date: June 12-14, 2023
Deadline for applications: 15 December 2022
This international conference aims to explore Sommerfrische (Summer holiday) destinations, summer resorts, and spas, focusing on the particular urban processes that led to their emergence and the factors that transformed them into spaces of possibility in a rural or small-town context.
Did summer resorts and spa destinations become cosmopolitan and international metropolises in microcosm? Were certain urban conventions of behavior and sociability temporarily suspended?
A global perspective will allow us to examine articulations of ethnic, national, religious, political, and social identifications of the proprietors, guests, and the year-round local population.
In particular, the conference will examine the dynamics of Jewish/non-Jewish relations. Who came into contact with whom? Which communicative spaces emerged in the resorts? What was the quality and nature of Jewish/non-Jewish relationships? What was the nature of interactions among Jews – for example between working-class and middle-class Jews, or between the secular and observant? Were encounters ephemeral or did they lead to lasting friendships? How did the encounter between tourists from different social classes and religious groups, with diverse ethnic and national affiliations, affect perceptions, prejudices, and resentments?
Organizers invite submission of abstracts in English of no more than 300 words by researchers from all relevant disciplines.
Please send abstracts and a short CV by e-mail (to culturesofrest(at)gmail.com) by 15 December 2022.
The organizers will provide travel allowances for participants who have no academic affiliation or are unable to cover their travel expenses. In the abstract, please indicate whether you would like to apply for a travel allowance.
The conference is a cooperation between the Jewish Studies Program, Central European University, and the Center for Jewish Studies, University of Graz
Organizers: Susanne Korbel (University of Graz), Michael L. Miller (CEU)