The sixteenth Annual Convention of Austria Centers took place in Budapest, Hungary in June 2024. There, colleagues gathered from around the world, coming from Jerusalem, Olomouc, Vienna, Berkeley, Edmonton, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Budapest and, of course, Leiden.
The Austria Center Leiden was represented by Prof. dr. Sarah Cramsey, Dr. Lena Sadovski (Post-doctoral Fellow at the Austria Center Leiden) and Ms. Lotte-Sofie Groenendijk (M.A. student in History) The trio joined their colleagues from around the world on trips to Gödöllő, the medieval fortress at Visegrad, the city of Vác, the artists' paradise of Szentendre and Budpest itself. According to Sadovski, "these excursions highlighted Hungary's rich history and its connections to Austria - including but also going beyond Sisi - and helped participants get to know each other and the work of the individual Austria Centres better, paving the way for future exchanges and collaborations." Beyond these day trips, Cramsey, Sadovski and Groenendijk gave presentations to the conference attendees and interested members of the public to showcase the great work in Central European studies being done at Leiden.
For Groenendijk, "the Annual Austrian Studies Conference, to me, was an amazing opportunity to meet fellow researchers with common expertise and to help one another further in our respective research, but also to learn outside of my own topics of interest. I really enjoyed how the conference transcended disciplines. Furthermore, it was lovely to get to know the people behind the academics; we had a lot of fun with the group as well."
Sadovski noted this as well, "the conference covered a wide range of topics, spanning medieval, early modern and contemporary history as well as sociology, political, urban, German and literary studies. The participants addressed female economic activities in the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church in the early modern Balkans, multilingual schooling in the Polish territories of Austria and Prussia, Austrian Roma serving in the Wehrmacht, the Holocaust in movies and modern education, climate policies in Vienna, and German literature in Hungary, to name but a few of the themes presented. This diverse scholarly exchange occurred in a friendly and engaging environment, where experienced professors provided valuable feedback and posed insightful questions to their younger counterparts, aiding in the refinement and expansion of their research."
In sum, participation expanded Groenendijk and Sadovski's views of "Central Europe." For Sadovski, "participating in the conference deepened my appreciation for Central Europe's multifaceted past and present by showcasing its diverse and interconnected history, culture, and academic landscape. Engaging with scholars from various countries and disciplines provided me with a broader understanding of the region's complexity and significance. Additionally, the excursions to historical sites in Hungary illustrated the tangible connections and shared heritage within the region. Especially in politically challenging times as ours, it would be highly desirable if Austria's deep entanglement with Central and Eastern European was highlighted and appreciated in public discourse." Groenendijk, speaking from her vantage point as a historian, was pleased with the diversity of the presentations and the conference overall. "The perspectives of non-historians on my [historical] research provided compelling insights from a completely fresh perspective. I think it made me appreciate the diversity of Central Europe and the academic research relating to Central Europe all the more."
The conference was sponsored by the Austrian Government, particularly the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research and their partner organization the OEaD (Austria's Agency for Education and Internationalisation).
