October 21-22, 2022 Hybrid conference: Online and in Ottawa
Deadline: July 20, 2022
Historically, war has been a profoundly gendered experience, as traditional dichotomies put women securely on the “Homefront,” as supporters, caregivers and afterward, as mourners of the dead. Much scholarship has reflected on the historical experiences both on the battlefield and the “Homefront,” and we now know that these two cannot be neatly separated. Early historiography focused on the contention that war broke down gender norms, even was liberating for women. While we are interested in continuing such discussions, we are also hopeful of expanding and diversifying them by hearing about gendered experiences of war-related activities in Ontario. How did women manage new familial tensions, take on new types of work, remember those who were lost? In particular, we seek to explore how war is now taught in schools, how war is remembered and preserved through public history institutions and through commemoration, and new insights from current academic research on these subjects.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
Teaching War and Gender:
Exploring wartime roles and resistance
Moving beyond traditional narratives of war
Public history and the presentation/preservation of wartime:
Presenting and preserving war and gender at museums
Women’s role in commemorating the war
The role of archives in the documentation of war
Original research on war-related activities:
The “Homefront”
Volunteerism and the wars
Wartime and women’s rights
Collateral damage of war
Post-war and demobilization
Anti-war movements
Gendering patriotism, nationalism, and war narratives
War in popular culture
We are accepting proposals for individual papers, panels, and plenary sessions. Please submit a 250-word proposal by July 20, 2022 to: alloydla@museumlondon.ca