We are pleased to announce a significant international explorative workshop titled “Trauma, Institutional Knowledge, and Social Order: New Perspectives from Eastern and Western Europe during the Cold War.” This workshop invites scholars to delve into a critical, yet often underexplored, aspect of recent European history: the institutional responses to psychic suffering and trauma during the Cold War era.

Set to take place from December 3rd to 5th, 2025, at the University of Graz, Austria, this event offers a unique platform for interdisciplinary discussion and the sharing of new research.

Unpacking Trauma in Cold War Europe

The workshop aims to critically examine how “trauma” emerged not only as a therapeutic concept but also as a political discourse and an administrative practice across Europe after 1945. It seeks to understand the diverse ways psychiatric diagnoses, forensic reports, police investigations, and bureaucratic procedures shaped societal approaches to various forms of distress. This includes experiences such as political violence, armed conflicts, mass displacement, natural catastrophes, epidemics, and other structural forms of harm that defined the period.

Moving beyond studies solely focused on the long-term psychological consequences of World War II, this workshop emphasizes the Cold War as a period of continuous upheaval. It highlights the development of new institutional responses to psychic distress, while also acknowledging the enduring legacies of earlier violence. Our goal is to uncover specifically European trajectories in the conceptual and institutional history of ‘trauma’, providing fresh insights into trauma institutional Cold War Europe.

New Perspectives on Institutional Approaches

The workshop encourages contributions grounded in institutional archives and documentary sources. These include, but are not limited to, psychiatric and therapeutic case files, forensic assessments, hospital records, bureaucratic documents, police files, and court proceedings. Such materials are invaluable for revealing how societies perceived, managed, classified—or failed to address—mental suffering under specific historical conditions.

This event actively engages with recent historiographical debates that challenge simplistic East–West dichotomies regarding the recognition of psychic suffering. Evidence suggests that similar diagnostic and administrative frameworks were often in place across both systems until around 1980. The workshop invites participants to explore how psychic distress was defined, regulated, or marginalized in diverse national and political contexts across Europe during the Cold War. Understanding this complex trauma institutional Cold War Europe landscape is crucial for a nuanced historical analysis.

Possible Topics for Contribution:

We welcome abstract submissions on a range of topics, including (but not limited to):

• Psychiatric, legal, and other administrative approaches to psychic suffering in Eastern and Western Europe.
• Diagnostic strategies: navigating between pathologization, normalization, acknowledgement, and ignorance.
• The use of forensic reports, police files, and psychiatric records as sources for the history of trauma.
• The intricate relationship between political repression, mental distress, and medical classification.
• Social, gender, environmental, health, and economic dimensions influencing the (non-)recognition of psychic vulnerability.
• Institutional logics in addressing war trauma, imprisonment-related suffering, and structural violence.
• Interactions between medical knowledge, administrative practices, and norms of psychological normalcy.

Practical Information and Submission Details:

The workshop is a collaborative effort, jointly organized by:

1. The Institute of History, Department of Southeast European History and Anthropology at the University of Graz (Heike Karge)
2. The Institute for the History of Medicine and Ethics in Medicine at the Charité Berlin (Ketil Slagstad, Volker Hess)
3. The German Police University in Münster (Gundula Gahlen)

• Date: December 3–5, 2025
• Location: University of Graz, Institute of History, Austria
• Language: The workshop will be conducted entirely in English.
• Working Papers: We plan to circulate working papers in advance to facilitate in-depth discussion.
• Funding: Travel and accommodation costs for accepted participants will be covered.

Submission Guidelines:

Please submit your abstract (maximum 300 words) and a short biographical note (maximum 150 words) by July 1st, 2025, to:

Heike Karge

• Notification of Acceptance: By July 15th, 2025.
• Deadline for Paper Submission: November 3rd, 2025.

We look forward to receiving your proposals and to a stimulating workshop on the critical intersections of trauma institutional Cold War Europe studies.

Contact:
Prof. Dr. Heike Karge
Southeast European History and Anthropology
University of Graz