Largely constructed through discourses, laws, and treaties by political, religious, or ideological powers, norms are diffused by institutions and partially internalized by each individual. They mark the line that separates acceptable from deviant behaviours in settings that range from our public lives to the intimacy of our homes. Through time and space, and through a complex game of social, state and spiritual pressures, norms have diversified and spread; they have also been rejected and transgressed, whether consciously or not, by individual or collective entities. Many of the social sciences, such as sociology, psychology, and economics, have centered norms at the core their studies. Historians have applied norms in reflections on religion, politics, power, daily and material life, identity, sexuality, gender, race, colonialism, inclusion and exclusion, marginality, criminality, etc. Re-examining norms is not only an opportunity to offer new interpretations of their aforementioned uses, but also to bring into question the norms that researchers themselves use with regard to  methodologies, inviting the decentralization of research and the emergence of new fields of studies (such as post-colonialism, Imperial Studies, Animal Studies, Environmental Studies, Anthropocene, etc.).

The organizing committee wishes to offer a forum for dialogue and reflection on the use and conceptualization of norms. How do they vary in time and space? How are they institutionalized? Can they be confronted? How do ideologies influence norms? How are they diffused? How do we live them, daily? Which mechanisms conceal them? Is there a relationship between norms and art, if so, of what nature? How do they dictate perfection (physical, moral, etc.)? What factor do they play in identity building? How can we reject them, and what are the implications of doing so? Who are the marginalized, and can they use norms to their own design? Finally, in academic analysis, how do norms influence research?

The committee invites proposals addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Understanding the establishment and evolution of norms through time and space (Institutions, power relationships, transnationality, discourses, etc.)
• Observing norms in daily life in collective and individual contexts (families, relations, identities, creativity, learning, etc.)
• Grasping the relationship between norms and marginality (Minorities, race, gender, sexuality, disability, etc.)

Graduate researchers from any field of study whose work focuses on the aforementioned themes are invited to apply for the XXVI International Interdisciplinary Colloquium of the University of Montreal’s Department of History’s Graduate Students’ Association. Participation in this colloquium is an excellent opportunity to present your research, interact with colleagues and professors, and to eventually publish your findings.

The deadline to apply is January 4th, 2019, at midnight. Please submit proposals in English or French to [email protected], with a copy to [email protected]. Applicants must provide their first and last names, institutional affiliation, and an estimate of travel costs if they require financial aid.