The international and interdisciplinary conference Choosing the Past: The Manifestation of History in a Changing Public Sphere focuses on a number of issues related to history, sociology, policy and the broader prospects for their development within the humanities.

The conference is designed for PhD candidates and selected master’s students whose work engages with history, sociology, linguistics, anthropology, law, political science, literary studies, gender studies, area studies, and related disciplines.

Over the past decade, growing scholarly attention to the manifestation of history in the public sphere has opened new perspectives for interpreting the past, examining its uses, and understanding its ideological, social, and cultural implications. This interdisciplinary event offers a shared platform for in-depth reflection on the mechanisms through which historical narratives are constructed, negotiated, and transformed in response to evolving political, social, and technological contexts. The conference seeks to promote sustained critical dialogue among PhD and Master’s students representing a broad spectrum of humanities disciplines. By creating a space for collective reflection, it aims to inspire the development of new methodological and analytical approaches capable of addressing the contemporary challenges facing these fields. Participants will have the opportunity to reflect on the role of academic research in shaping public debates about the past, considering how scholarly interpretations influence broader understanding of historical events. Furthermore, the conference aims to foster a new generation of scholars equipped to navigate both established and innovative forms of knowledge production within increasingly dynamic global and local environments. In doing so, it encourages participants to reconsider the boundaries of disciplinary practice and to engage with emerging theoretical frameworks that challenge conventional interpretations of historical experience.

The main research areas are:

• Patriotism and National-Patriotic Version of History;
• The Ideologisation of History and Myth-Making;
• National Identity and the Politics of Belonging;
• Visual Culture and the Representational Forms of Memory;
• Heritage and Urban Memory-Making;
• Post-Truth and Mechanisms of Disinformation;
• Past Futures, Utopias, Nostalgias;
• Minorities, Indigenous Studies and Transcultural Memory;
• Social Justice Education and Practices of Responsibility;
• New Perspectives on Gender and Gender Inequality;
• Media Discourse and Algorithmic Visibility;
• Decolonisation of History and the Transformation of Knowledge Frameworks.

The conference will be held online & in-person on June 10-12, 2026. The event is organized by the Department of East European Studies and the Boris Nemtsov Academic Center, Faculty of Arts, and the Department of Historical Studies, Faculty of Humanities, Charles University in Prague.

To submit an abstract (max. 300 words) please complete the submission form on the web or via email choosingthepast.conference2026@gmail.com no later than the 10h of May, 2026. Please also indicate your academic degree and institutional affiliation.

Selected papers will be considered for publication in a collective monograph that will be prepared on the basis of the conference’s outcomes, bringing together the most significant contributions and advancing ongoing scholarly discussions in the field.

There is no participation fee.

For any questions relating to the conference, please email: choosingthepast.conference2026@gmail.com