Citizens in Arms. Conscript Armies as Cultural and Political Phenomena

Workshop in Stockholm 17-19 February 2010.

Södertörn University, the Swedish Army Museum, the Swedish National Defence College and the Delegation for Research in Military History arranged the workshop “Citizens in Arms. Conscript Armies as Cultural and Political Phenomena” in February.

During the twentieth century, conscription as a form of recruitment to armed forces became the norm in Europe. Once in arms, the mass of conscripts was subject not only to military training, but a wide range of educational and civilisational measures. The armed forces were prime movers of state sponsored modernization, and an important pillar of modern nation-building. Containing a large mass of young men in arms for considerable time, gave the state the opportunity to form the conscripts in accordance to the need and implement norms of manliness. Introducing the conscript army also implied a certain path of military training, organisation and equipment that was to affect the military as well as the surrounding society in the future.

The workshop focused on conscript armies and addressed questions of identity, gender, nation-building and cultural heritage.

Another important aspect was to discuss research on and by military museums and the visualisation of military education and power. Museums are the foremost collectors of military items and are at the same time sources themselves as the collections reflect the zeitgeist.

The workshop aimed at raising important questions and serve as a starting point of a research network concerning these questions.

For further information about the workshop (and to see pictures of the speakers) please check the programme (link to the left). 

 

More details: 

Contact Fredrik Eriksson, the Institute of Contemporary History.

Email: fredrik.l.eriksson@sh.se.