Conference Notification

Posted on by NZHeh

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE HISTORY OF THE RED CROSS MOVEMENT

Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia, 9-11 September 2016

This conference acknowledges the growing number of historians and researchers working in the rapidly expanding area of the history of the international Red Cross Movement. With its origins in the mid-nineteenth century, this global humanitarian organization includes the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) originally formed in Geneva in 1863; the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) created in 1919; as well as the 189 (at last count) national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies.

The conference seeks to bring together scholars from around the world to explore a number of themes that relate to the historical development of this large, multifaceted, complex and important international humanitarian organization. Topics could include relations between the different national Red Cross societies across time and place; an examination of the role of the Federation (League) and its linkages with both national societies and the ICRC; feature papers from specific national society histories; challenges to the structure and ideals of the Red Cross Movement; contested themes of conflict and neutrality; gender and race; war and the militarization of charity; and historicizing the internationalism and humanitarianism of the Red Cross Movement.

We invite expressions of interest from academics, post-graduate students, archivists and those interested in exploring the global historical dimensions of the Red Cross Movement into the 21st century. Please forward this email to colleagues and contact Professor Melanie Oppenheimer to be placed on the conference mailing list.

A call for papers will be sent out in early 2015.

Conference Convenors: 

Professor Melanie Oppenheimer Professor of History, Flinders University (melanie.oppenheimer@flinders.edu.au);

Professor Neville Wylie Professor of International Political History, University of Nottingham, UK (neville.wylie@nottingham.ac.uk);

Dr Christine Winter ARC Future Fellow, University of Sydney, Australia (christine.winter@sydney.edu.au)

Dr James Crossland Senior Lecturer in International History, Liverpool John Moores University UK (J.N.Crossland@ljmu.ac.uk)