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This conference (German Historical Institute London, 5 December - 7 December, 2013) will examine the home front of World War II, recognizing the war as a catalyst for broader social developments during the twentieth century, in particular for the emergence of mass consumer societies. In order to analyze the wide range of aspects in wartime consumption comparatively, the conference will look at the role of the consumer and civilian morale in the war efforts of Germany, Japan, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. To address these questions we invite historians of consumption, economic and social historians, new military historians, and cultural historians who work on these five nations during the World War II era to share their research.
The conference hopes to comparatively assess the consumer experience of the war as well as the broader economic visions that underpinned them in four broad segments:
I. Lessons from World War I: Political Legitimization and Avoiding Scarcity
II. Organizing Homefront Consumption: Between State and Market
III. Wartime Consumers: Experience and Social Practice of Homefront Consumption
IV. Wartime Legacies: Impact on Postwar Consumption Regimes.
Within these broad categories we invite submission on a wide array of topics including, but not limited to: wartime nutrition, textiles and fashion, systems of rationing and price controls, advertising and market research, consumer organizations and businesses, as well as entertainment and commercial leisure.
Please, send a title, short abstract (max. 500 words), and CV to the GHI London (ghil(ghi)ghil.ac.uk) by Dec. 15 2012. Conference language will be English.
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