Call for Papers: Dialogue on Antisemitism: A Path Towards Understanding and Action

Historical, Contemporary, and Comparative Perspectives

Research conference in Turku/Åbo, 29-30 January 2025

It is our great pleasure to invite you to the first conference in Finland on antisemitism, organized by the Antisemitism Undermining Democracy Project and the Inez and Julius Polin Institute for Theological Research.

In a time where Jewish communities and individuals around the globe encounter with hate, combating and preventing antisemitism is a priority. Actions for combatting antisemitism however cannot be efficiently planned without knowing and understanding the different manifestations of the phenomena in our diverse societies. The objective of this conference therefore is to facilitate the knowledge exchange between researchers and policy makers, and open the dialogue between them as well as the general public in order to increase the possibilities of creating effective counterstrategies against antisemitism.

The conference will take place between the 29– 30 January, 2025 in Åbo (Turku), Finland at the premises of Åbo Akademi University in Finland. The goal of the conference is to promote cross-disciplinary dialogue, and to explore and discuss the phenomena of antisemitism in diverse societies.

We welcome papers that reflect on the social and political implications of antisemitism (both historical and contemporary), including antisemitism in the press, media, and among different groups in diverse societies. We also encourage participants to submit papers connected to antisemitism in historical and contemporary settings, to the effects of antisemitism on education, democracy and democratic values, religious lives of Jewish individuals, as well as papers on proposed methods and good practices in researching as well as in combatting antisemitism.

The closer programme of the conference will be prepared later, but the invited esteemed keynote speakers have already been confirmed:

Izabella Tabarovsky (Wilson Center)

Vibeke Moe (Norwegian Center for Holocaust and Minority Studies)

Please send your paper proposal (with max. 300 words) before 31 August 2024 here. Letters of acceptance will be posted no later than 30 September 2024.

Please register via this link. If you do not wish to present at the conference but would like to attend, please register under the same link until 30th December. Please note that teachers only register here.

Do you have any questions? Please send them to debunkingantisemitism@abo.fi. The conference is held at Åbo Akademi University in Turku (Åbo), Finland.

After the conference, the presenters will be given an opportunity to have their papers peer reviewed, and – if approved – published in an edited volume. A conference fee of 40€ will be collected to cover costs for a conference dinner, coffee breaks, and running costs. Optionally, participants may choose to attend the conference dinner, for an additional cost of 50 Eur. Registration for the conference dinner is done via the same link as the registration.

We are looking forward to seeing you in Åbo / Turku.

Organising committee:

Mercédesz Czimbalmos, Åbo Akademi University

Dóra Pataricza, Åbo Akademi University

Nóra Varga, Åbo Akademi University