WeberWorldCafé: “Narrating the First World War – Experiences and Reports from Transregional Perspectives”

Alfresco tea party at a World War I New Zealand camp, England. Royal New Zealand Returned and Services’ Association :New Zealand official negatives, World War 1914-1918. Ref: 1/2-013829-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.
As a total war, the First World War directly or indirectly affected people in countless regions of the world. The WeberWorldCafé “Narrating the First World War – Experiences and Reports from Transregional Perspectives” will look at the war from the perspectives of different countries/regions, cultures, and academic disciplines in order to gain a deeper understanding of how people experienced the war. The event is hosted by the Forum Transregionale Studien and the Max Weber Stiftung and will take place on
September 16th, 2014 from 2-6 p.m. in the Café of and in cooperation with the Deutsches Historisches Museum (DHM) in Berlin.
As the number of participants is limited we ask you to register until August 15th, 2014 via Schifferdecker@maxweberstiftung.de. Find out more about the first WeberWorldCafé “Bürger, Blogger, Botschafter: Diplomatie im 21. Jahrhundert” and get background information on the format and topics here. The WeberWorldCafé is still looking for a Science Reporter! Find out what a Science Reporter does and how to apply here.

Unidentified still from one of the IWM films. Possibly IWM 551, reel 8, title “The Empire Shield: the Royal Navy”. © IWM (Q 69772)
The WeberWorldCafé (WWC) is an innovative and interactive event format. Distinguished experts will provide insights into the issue of how the war was experienced and understood. In the course of several rounds of talks, the participants will be given the chance to talk to these experts in a relaxed, coffeehouse-like atmosphere.
By visiting different tables throughout the event, the participants will look at the First World War from various angles, considering different sources and approaches. Eight regional tables are planned for this WeberWorldCafé: 1. Western Europe, 2. Central Europe, 3. Eastern Europe, 4. North America/Oceania, 5. Western Asia, 6. Near and Middle East, 7. East Asia/South Asia, 8. Africa. Two experts will host each table, enabling them to discuss conflicting approaches and different perspectives of the warring parties. The table hosts will come from various disciplines (inter alia history, area studies, literature, art history) and explore different (trans)regional and (inter)disciplinary views on comprehensive questions addressing the First World War.
The event will open with a 45-minute guided tour through the exhibition of the DHM on the First World War.
The analysis of everyday life during the war and of the reactions to the events taking place both at home and at the fronts is becoming increasingly popular. Researchers have been looking for new ways to address old issues and now regard the war as a driving force of global, political, social and technological change. Now, the focus increasingly lies on the relationship between different regions and their inhabitants, migration as an outcome of war, and the role of colonial troops.
The goal of the WeberWorldCafé “Narrating the First World War” is to connect different approaches on an international level, thereby addressing the direct and indirect effects of the war on regions and nations. The intention is not to give a comprehensive, global explanation of the First World War, but to enable a lively exchange between different regional and thematic perspectives.
The renowned historian Prof. Dr. Sebastian Conrad will be chairing the event and is going to draw a conclusion after the table talks. He will be accompanied by the organizer Gesche Schifferdecker. Federal Minister of Education and Research, Prof. Dr. Johanna Wanka, will complete the WeberWorldCafé and lead over to the panel discussion “Im Gedenkjahr nichts Neues? Der Erste Weltkrieg und die Zukunft Europas” hosted by “Geisteswissenschaft im Dialog” in the evening of September 16, 2014 at the Schlüterhof of the DHM. Selected participants of the WeberWorldCafé will participate in the panel discussion and report on their experiences with the event.
Table Hosts
1. Western Europe: Elisa Marcobelli, Deutsches Historisches Institut Paris / Dr. Juliane Haubold-Stolle, curator of the exhibition 1914–1918. Der Erste Weltkrieg, Deutsches Historischen Museum

Bombardment and Landings: A French battleship firing at Turkish shore positions in the preliminary bombardment. © IWM (Q 53526)
2. Central Europe: Dr. Frank Reichherzer, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin / Dr. Silke Fehleman, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main
3. Eastern Europe: Dr. Stephan Lehnstaedt, Deutsches Historisches Institut Warschau / Andreas Mix, curator of the exhibition 1914–1918. Der Erste Weltkrieg, Deutsches Historischen Museum
4. North America/Oceania: Dr. Sebastian Jobs, John-F.-Kennedy-Institut für Nordamerikastudien, Freie Universität Berlin / Dr. Christina Spittel, University of New South Wales Canberra
5. Western Asia: Dr. Philipp Wirtz, SOAS, University of London / Dr. Nazan Maksudyan, Istanbul Kemerburgaz University

A field gun captured by the New Zealand Division on display in London at the end of World War I. Royal New Zealand Returned and Services’ Association :New Zealand official negatives, World War 1914-1918. Ref: 1/2-014086-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.
6. Near and Middle East: Dr. Valeska Huber, Deutsches Historisches Institut London / Fatameh Masjedi, Zentrum Moderner Orient
7. East Asia/South Asia: Dr. Torsten Weber, Deutsches Institut für Japanstudien Tokyo / Dr. Samiksha Sehrawat, Newcastle University
8. Africa: Dr. Michelle Moyd, Indiana University / Dr. Joe Lunn, University of Michigan
Hosts: Prof. Dr. Sebastian Conrad, Freie Universität Berlin and Forum Transregionale Studien / Gesche Schifferdecker, Max Weber Stiftung
Eine Antwort
[…] blogger at DHP, Janine Noack, is a science reporter for the WeberWorldCafe blog, which is hosting a World War I event today starting 2 P.M (CET) or 12 P.M. GMT, for those of us in […]