cfp.english.upenn.edu

The interwar period was characterized by a paradoxical attitude towards modernity. The First World War had witnessed the destructiveness of modern technology, and thus instilled doubts about progress. As a result, various anti-modernist movements grew in popularity during this period (concerning both an alternative way of living, such as naturism, and art in which the pre-war avant-gardist ethos was replaced by a return to traditional forms such as neoclassicism). As well, during the 1930s in particular many European states undertook at the political level to halt urbanization, considered a form of degeneration, and to promote life in the countryside as a means of salvation for society.

Nevertheless, the interwar period saw the rapid modernization of many European countries. The idea of progress, especially in terms of technology, formed the parameters with which according to modern nationalism the power of a nation at the international level could be measured.

Whilst urbanization and industrialization had changed the European landscape, Herbert Marcuse in “Some Social Implications of Modern Technology” (1941) and “The New German Mentality” (1942) showed how technology, intended as “social process”, interfered with social relationships. In Marcuse’s view the Third Reich was a technocracy in which a new “technical rationality”, emphasizing the pursuit of efficiency and the primacy of a “matter-of-fact” mentality, generated inhuman values that superseded those pertaining to the welfare of people. Such a technological attitude would influence human thought and relationships to an extent to weaken individuality and lead to the instauration of mass society.

This multidisciplinary workshop invites papers dealing with the problematic of “Fascism and Technology”. In this context the term ‘Fascism’ applies to any totalitarian state – either extreme right or extreme left – in existence during the interwar period. Suitable topics could be related to modernity in general, technology as a means of power, and their representation in the arts.

If you are interested in presenting a paper, please send an approximately 300-word abstract and your CV to the chair, Marja Härmänmaa, by the 30th of April 2010, e-mail address: marja.harmanmaa@helsinki.fi

Marja Härmänmaa
University of Helsinki
Finland