Experiences form our understanding of the world we live in, physically, culturally, economically and socially. One key aim of the new history of experience is to analyse the complex interactions and dynamics between individuals, groups, institutions and society in the production of experiences, and what lies in the margins of these encounters. Experiences are often shared and thus “collective”; while shared experience can hold communities and groups together, they may also undermine and even break societies apart. Subjective experiences that do not conform to expectations can lead to alienation. Focusing on the interplay between individual and collective experiences, centers and margins – especially during times of change – we invite contributions that explore how experiences relate to frictions, marginalizations, and disruptions in history of society.
We invite proposals for papers and panels that span a range of periods, methodologies, and disciplines. By encouraging diverse contributions, we aim to create a forum that engages in discussion about the state of the field through conceptual case studies and more theoretically oriented reflections.
Possible themes include but are not limited to:
- Conflicts, crises, societal changes.
- Frictions between subjective and shared experience.
- Marginalizations; processes and structures of marginalizing.
- Experience/ experiences of marginalization.
- Intersectional perspectives on historical experience and marginalization.
- Oppressed experiences.
- Temporality in experience.
- Slow changes vs. sudden ruptures in experience.
- Experiences of emerging change and sudden social ruptures.
- Experiences escalating (and de-escalating) conflict.
- Experiences of violence, violent experiences.
By frictions we refer to the tensions and conflicts that arise within and between historical experiences. “Margins” denote the experiences of those on the peripheries of society, while ruptures indicate significant breaks or disruptions in historical continuity.
Panel Proposals and Individual Paper Proposals
We encourage proposals for coherent panels and individual papers from all scholars who examine historical experiences in any time period or geographical context. Panel proposals should consist of 3 to 4 papers. The conference considers the history of experiences broadly, but the organizers encourage scholars to focus rigorously on the central questions, theoretically oriented approaches, and novel methods and sources pertaining to the history of experiences. As a tribute to the three thematic teams at HEX, we also encourage scholars with an interest in the history of experiences of religion, nations and nationalism, and the welfare (state) to submit proposals. We also encourage inter- or multidisciplinary approaches and longue durée perspectives on history of experience.
Please submit your proposal by 30 November 2025 (via this link: https://www.lyyti.in/hex2026cfp) according to the following instructions.
- For complete panels, send a joint 400-word abstract, together with brief bios and paper titles for each proposed speaker.
2. For individual papers, send a 250-word abstract together with a brief bio.
For questions and more information, please write to hexconference@tuni.fi.
More information on HEX Conference: https://events.tuni.fi/historyofexperience/
Digital Handbook of the History of Experience: https://sites.tuni.fi/hexhandbook/