Oppositional Engagement of Women in Authoritarian and Totalitarian Systems of the 20th Century - CALL FOR PAPERS - Instytut Pileckiego

Oppositional Engagement of Women in Authoritarian and Totalitarian Systems of the 20th Century
Research / Conferences Oppositional Engagement of Women in Authoritarian and Totalitarian Systems of the 20th Century

Invitation to the International Academic Conference: “Oppositional Engagement of Women in Authoritarian and Totalitarian Systems of the 20th Century: Poland in a Comparative European Perspective (1919–1989)”

The Witold Pilecki Institute of Solidarity and Valor, in cooperation with the University of Białystok and the Institute of Women’s Studies, is pleased to invite participation in the second conference in a series devoted to the presence of women in the nondemocratic states of the past century.

Dates and location

Date: 8–10 July 2026

Venue: Augustów Roundup Memorial House, Pilecki Institute Branch, 16 3 Maja Street, Augustów.

Conference languages: Polish and English. Interpretation will be provided.

Purpose and scope

The conference will provide a forum for interdisciplinary reflection on women’s strategies of resistance in the years 1919–1989. The focus will be on Polish experiences analyzed within a broad comparative European context.

Our aim is to analyze:

  • The individual and collective experiences of women involved in opposition movements.
  • The evolution of attitudes: from operating within structures of power to active resistance.
  • Mechanisms of oppression: surveillance, blackmail, economic repression, and deportation.
  • Memory and the social consequences arising from acts of opposition.

Thematic Areas

1. Women’s biographies and their individual paths to opposition activity.

2. The activity of women’s circles as an organized form of resistance.

3. Diverse forms of engagement in the struggle against the system.

4. The apparatus of repression against women: methods, institutions, and the consequences of state actions.

Information for speakers

We invite researchers representing the fields of history, sociology, political science, and studies of oppressive systems to participate.

  • Submissions: Please send proposed paper topics with an abstract of up to 1,000 characters and a short biographical note of up to 200 characters to: konferencja.kobiety@instytutpileckiego.pl
  • Submission deadline: 15 May 2026.
  • Notification of acceptance: by 15 June 2026.

Publication:

Papers accepted following the review process will be published in 2027 in a scored academic monograph issued by the Pilecki Institute Publishing House.

Logistics and organization:

The organizers will provide participants with:

  • Free participation, with no conference fee.
  • Accommodation for two nights and full board.
  • Reimbursement of travel expenses.

Organizers and partners

  • Main Organizer: Witold Pilecki Institute of Solidarity and Valor
  • Co-organizers: University of Białystok, Institute of Women’s Studies

The project is financed from the state budget funds awarded by the Minister of Science and Higher Education under the “Wektory Nauki” program.

The conference is held under the honorary patronage of Marta Cienkowska, the Minister of Culture and National Heritage.

The conference is held under the honorary patronage of Mirosław Karolczuk, the Mayor of Augustów.

Honorary patronage

Media partnership