We are pleased to share this Call for Papers for the IV International Conference Jews in Galicia: Histories, Topographies, and Texts, to be held in person in Kraków on October 20-21, 2025. The deadline for applications is June 15.
From 1772 to 1918, Galicia played a significant role in the history of the Jewish Diaspora, emerging as a vibrant and diverse center of Jewish life within a multicultural environment. This conference will explore three key dimensions of contemporary Galician Jewry: historical, topographical, and textual. Additionally, organizers welcome presentations that examine the heritage of Galician Jewry within a broader historical and cultural context, including Jewish relationships with the region’s non-Jewish population.
Contributions may address the following topics:
- The histories of Galician Jews and their political, economic, and social roles;
- Jewish interactions with neighboring communities;
- Historical processes and geopolitical changes and their impact on Jewish identity and cultural expressions;
- The topographies of Jewish life: urban centers, shtetls, rural spaces, and their physical and symbolic landscapes;
- Jewish religious life and its institutions;
- Literary and cultural representations of the Galician Jewish experience in different languages: Yiddish, Hebrew, Polish, Ukrainian, and German;
- Galician Jewish culture – texts and contributors, including writers, artists, and intellectuals;
- Archival sources, memoirs, religious texts, and modern reflections on Galician Jewry;
- (Post)memory and heritage; descendants of Galician Jews and their relationship with the country of their ancestors;
- Jewish genealogy: current research and future directions.
Scholars conducting research on topics related to Jews in Galicia are invited to submit original papers for presentation.
The language of the conference will be English.
Applications for participation in the conference should be submitted by June 15, 2025. Please submit a paper abstract (max. 400 words) and a short bio. The conference program will be announced in early July 2025.
For applications and inquiries, please contact: [email protected].
An edited volume featuring chapters based on talks given at the conference is planned.
The conference will take place at the Galicia Jewish Museum. The organizers are: The Marcell and Maria Roth Center for Research on the History and Culture of Jews in Poland and Polish-Jewish Relations, Institute of Jewish Studies, Jagiellonian University; the Center of Jewish History and Culture, Institute of History, University of Rzeszów; the Galicia Jewish Museum, Kraków; in cooperation with the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv (Ukraine).