Modern Approaches in Humanities and Social Sciences Conference

MHSS Amsterdam

The MHSS Amsterdam conference aims to bring together scholars from various fields of the humanities, social sciences, and other related fields to share their research findings. The theme of the conference is “Unsettling Legacies”. It asks what legacies are unsettled, what unsettles legacies, and what happens when they are unsettled. It explores the concept of a legacy in a variety of contexts, including the historical, the colonial and postcolonial, the economic, the aesthetic, and the political. The conference will take place in the beautiful city of Amsterdam, one of Europe’s most vibrant cities. Amsterdam is a city that has always been marked by cultural diversity, and it has now become a prime location for interdisciplinary dialogue.

MHSS Malta

The MHSS Malta conference will take place from April 27 to 30, in Malta. Malta is an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea, consisting of three islands and a couple of islets. The conference will take place at the University of Malta and will be organized around the theme “Affective Modernities”. The conference invites contributions from across the social sciences and the humanities which explore the idea of affective modernities, that is, modernity as an experience, as something felt and not just intellectualized. It invites contributions that investigate the idea of affective modernities by focusing on different aspects of modernity, such as the transformation of social life, the rise of new technologies, and the emergence of new forms of subjectivities and modes of interaction.

MHSS Utrecht

The MHSS Utrecht conference will take place from April 15–17, 2019 at the University of Utrecht, Netherlands. The conference will be organized around the theme “Displacement and Transformation”. This conference invites contributions from across the social sciences and the humanities which explore displacement, displacement as a social process, and the transformation that comes with it. Contributions that investigate displacement and transformation in different contexts and on different scales are welcome.

MHSS Zurich

The MHSS Zurich conference will take place from March 31 to April 2, at the University of Zurich. It will be organized around the theme “Social Experimentations”. The conference invites contributions from across the social sciences and the humanities which explore the concept of social experimentation. Contributions that investigate the concept of social experimentation in different contexts and on different scales are welcome. This can include, but is not limited to, the following topics: social experiments in the arts, socialization in life-worlds (experiments in living), experiments with social imaginaries, experiments with collectivity, experiments with social policies and politics, experiments with social relations and social structures, experiments with borders, experiments with technologies, and experiments with time.

What topics are discussed in the Modern Approaches in Humanities and Social Sciences Conferences?

The themes of the MHSS conferences vary from year to year. The conferences are interdisciplinary by design and bring together scholars from the humanities, social sciences, and other related fields to share their research findings. The conferences are organized around a theme, inviting contributions from across the social sciences and the humanities that investigate the theme in different contexts and on different scales. The conferences are open to all disciplines, including (but not limited to) the following topics:

- Migration and Displacement: The impact of migration, displacement and forced migration on political and social life, migration and sustainability, the transformation of social relations, social and cultural identities and social structure, the transformation of economic activities and systems; the transformation of spatial and temporal relations.

- Affective Modernities: The idea of affective modernities, that is, modernity as an experience, as something felt and not just intellectualized, the transformation of social life, the rise of new technologies, and the emergence of new forms of subjectivities and modes of interaction.

- Social Experimentations: Social experiments in the arts, socialization in life-worlds (experiments in living), experiments with social imaginaries, experiments with collectivity, experiments with social policies and politics, experiments with social relations and social structures, experiments with borders, experiments with technologies, and experiments with time.

Why attend?

The Modern Approaches in Humanities and Social Sciences Conference Series is a network of interdisciplinary conferences that bring together scholars from various fields of the humanities, social sciences, and other related fields to share their research findings. A central aim of the MHSS conferences is to facilitate dialogue and collaboration between researchers, while at the same time encouraging collaboration between disciplines. In order to do so, the conferences welcome contributions from all disciplines and subfields, including, but not limited to, history, economics, sociology, political science, philosophy, art history, art and architectural theory, literature, cultural studies, media studies, and other related fields. The conferences are open to both early- and mid-career researchers and postgraduates. Participants can expect a stimulating interdisciplinary environment in which to present and discuss their work. Special attention is paid to the quality of the discussions so that all participants can contribute to the conference and benefit from the experience. The conferences are also open to undergraduate students who can benefit from participating in a conference as a valuable and enriching experience.

Scholarships for Students and Early-Career Researchers

MHSS conferences provide a unique opportunity for early and mid-career researchers to present their work and network with a diverse range of scholars from the Humanities and the Social Sciences. The conferences welcome contributions from all disciplines, including but not limited to: history, economics, sociology, political science, philosophy, art history, art and architectural theory, literature, cultural studies, media studies, and other related fields. The MHSS conferences offer a limited number of grants for early- and mid-career researchers to attend the conference, as well as travel grants for graduate students who are presenting their work at the conference. The grants will cover the conference registration fee and travel costs for those who apply and are selected.