Oppositional Engagement of Women in Authoritarian and Totalitarian Systems of the 20th Century: Poland in a Comparative European Perspective (1919–1989) - Instytut Pileckiego
Oppositional Engagement of Women in Authoritarian and Totalitarian Systems of the 20th Century: Poland in a Comparative European Perspective (1919–1989)
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)” will be the second academic debate in a series devoted to the lives and activities of women in authoritarian and totalitarian systems.
The aim of the conference is to present the fates of both individual women and entire groups engaged in the opposition in its broadest sense to authoritarian and totalitarian rule in European countries in the 20th century. Another goal is to explore the engagement of women in formalized movements and individual acts of resistance against these systems. To date, there are numerous research gaps and conventional stereotypes surrounding women’s involvement in anti-regime movements, spanning the period from the emergence of the new European and global order after the First World War (1918) to its ultimate collapse (1989/1990).
The conference will focus on the diverse forms of women’s engagement in the opposition, including activities undertaken by women who initially operated within formal power structures, but subsequently chose opposition to the state-imposed order.
The conference “Oppositional Engagement of Women in Authoritarian and Totalitarian Systems of the 20th Century: Poland in a Comparative European Perspective (1919–1989)” – a three-day international academic debate will be held in July 2026. Three thematic panels are planned: women’s biographies and their oppositional activities; the oppositional activity of women’s groups; forms of women’s engagement in opposition to the authorities.
A key tangible outcome of the conference will be a peer-reviewed monograph.
Coordinator of the conference project: Prof. Małgorzata Dajnowicz
Secretary of the conference: Dr. Joanna Nikel
Name of the program: Wektory Nauki
Total project value: PLN 283,500
Amount of financing: PLN 226,500
The project is financed by the state budget under the Wektory Nauki program of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
