Submit abstract capitalist.transformations@gmail.com
Who can apply? The conference is open to all scholars working on capitalist transformation in Eastern and Central Europe, regardless if they reside or not in the region. Nevertheless, the main idea is to encourage local-knowledge production and include in the venue as many scholars as possible working and activating in the region. Our goal is to strengthen and disseminate their valuable dissenting research and encourage others in the region to engage in critical theories of regional capitalism.
Abstracts: Please submit to capitalist.transformations@gmail.com an abstract of maximum 300 words and your institutional affiliation. Please specify for which of the following 5 streams you are applying and if you would like to join us in the retreat taking place in Reșița. Submissions will be evaluated by the scientific committee of the conference. Accepted proposals will be clustered together in panels. The submission of full papers and their dissemination to conference participants is optional for the authors.
Registration fee for conference:free for participants and for audience
Venue:The conference will take place entirely online. The previous two editions of the CT-ECE Conference (2021 and 2023) were successful in terms of attracting a wide audience that could not otherwise have afforded to travel. The main goal of the conference is to enable a wide dissemination in Eastern and Central Europe of research that is critically interrogating the capitalist transformations taking place in the region and to create networks of scholars, researchers and activists that are focusing their work on this topic.
Publications: One of the main aims of this conference is to enable a series of five edited volumes in order to disseminate critical scholarship focusing on capitalist transformations in ECE.
Retreat and industrial heritage (optional):One week after the conference (29 – 31 May 2025) we will organize a retreat in Reșița / Resicabánya / Reschitz (Romania). Reșița has been one of the most important Romanian industrial centers. Industrial development emerged here already in the 18th Century within the Habsburg Empire. Some of the earliest unions and worker’s movements were formed here during the 19th Century that were well connected to the regional progressive political networks. During the post-socialist period the steel and complex-machinery industries collapsed which resulted in vast brownfields. Reșița is now an important side of capitalist urban regeneration and trans-national real-estate enterprises. The city is in the proximity of Timisoara (European Capital of Culture 2023), Anina-Oravița-Baziaș (the first railroad network from Transylvania constructed in 1854) and the beautiful Danube Iron Gate gorge.
Retreat fee:The participation to the optional retreat costs 150 euro. This event is not mandatory and is taking place in the aftermath of the conference. It seeks to create a space for socialization and future collaborative projects. The fee will be used for organizational costs, visits to industrial heritage sites, internal transportation and one collective dinner. The participants are responsible for paying for their trip to Reșița, accommodation and meals. The organizing committee will assist participants with support in finding affordable accommodation and travel directions.
Scientific committee:Oana Mateescu (Babeș-Bolyai University), Don Kalb (University of Bergen), Doro Bohle (University of Vienna), Cornel Ban (Copenhagen Business School), Dana Domsodi (Babeș-Bolyai University), Enikő Vincze (Babeș-Bolyai University), Ovidiu Țichindeleanu (IDEA), Vladimir Simović (Centre for the Politics of Emancipation), Adela Hîncu (Institute of Contemporary History, Ljubljana), Attila Melegh (Corvinus University of Budapest), Adrian Grama (independent researcher), Alexandra Ghiț (RECET Vienna University), Olena Lyubchenko (York University, Toronto), Gareth Dale (Brunel University of London)
Executive committee:Sorin Gog (Babeș-Bolyai University), Macrina Moldovan (Babeș-Bolyai University), Dana Domsodi (Babeș-Bolyai University), Oana Mateescu (Babeș-Bolyai University)
Conveners:The conference is organized by Babeș-Bolyai University.
