Deadline 16 October! Call for Papers: Pack Up Your Troubles

Gateways to the First World War, an AHRC-funded centre for public engagement with the centenary of 1914-1918, is pleased to announce a conference Pack Up Your Troubles: Performance Cultures in the First World War to be held at the University of Kent in Canterbury Wednesday 27^th – Friday 29^th April 2016.

From the popular to elite, amateur to professional, a wide range of performative genres had a significant impact on the fighting spirit of servicemen and civilians in all combatant countries. Yet this vital area of the conflict has yet to be subject to in-depth academic attention. This conference will explore a variety of performance cultures in all theatres of war, on the home and fighting fronts, 1914-1918, seeking to extend the breadth and depth of our knowledge of this important area of First World War studies.

A combination of keynotes, panel sessions, workshops and performances will feature work on a broad range of wartime subjects including music, music hall, theatre, cinema and dance.

• What role did music, cinema and theatre play in the lives of servicemen and women, and civilians, in Britain and other combatant nations?

• How did wartime restrictions (ideological, economic and material) alter the nature of performance between 1914 and 1918?

• In what ways did theatres, cinemas, music halls respond to the war effort?

• What were the therapeutic uses of music and theatre?

• How were the tensions between entertainment and high art played out during the war, and what were the post-war consequences for the entertainment industries?

Proposals to a maximum of 300 words for papers of 20 minutes duration are invited for submission to gateways@kent.ac.uk by Friday 16^th October 2015

For more information please contact gateways@kent.ac.uk