The dangerous allure of perfection.
Dictatorships and the aesthetic of "kitsch" share a common goal: the enforcement of sterile, absolute control. But this engineered perfection is always fragile.

True creative relief and genuine progress require us to acknowledge when the bedrock of rigid systems begins to crack. Is true art ever really finished?
https://thelongstand.substack.com/p/the-architecture-of-the-badlands

#TotalitarianKitsch #DesignTheory #Aesthetics #Dictatorship #ArtHistory #SocialCritique #SystemicFailure #CulturalStudies

New #openaccess book!

'Displaced Families, Dispersed Memories' explores the #memory work and #mnemonic practices of families dispersed by political upheaval. It bridges historical and contemporary perspectives, combining #history, #sociology, #socialpsychology, #literarystudies, #culturalstudies, and cultural #anthropology. The book, edited by Johanna Leinonen et al., is available in PDF, accessible EPUB and print on demand at: https://hup.fi/books/e/10.33134/HUP-35

#CFP

Songs That Rewrite History
International conference on how songs (re)contextualise, challenge, and transform historical narratives in Romance-language contexts. Literary, cultural & musicological approaches welcome; lyrics and sound both central.

📍 Innsbruck
📅 3–5 December 2026

Deadline: 15/04/2026

https://www.romanistik.de/aktuelles/8834

#PopularMusic #Musicology #CulturalStudies #History

#callforpapers

Special Issue of Lateral Journal: "Performance Between Persistent Post-Truths"

Deadline: 16 March 2026

👉 Further information: https://www.performing-arts.eu/de/news/newsstream/call-for-papers-performance-between-persistent-post-truths-lateral-journal/

#performancestudies #performingarts #theatrestudies #theatreresearch #culturalstudies #callforabstracts

📚 The third session of the #RESONANCE project reading club will be held in person at FCSH, scheduled for 16 March. One of the chapters of Hartmut Rosa's book ‘Resonance: A Sociology of Our Relationship to the World’ will be discussed.

✍️ Registration is now open!

ℹ️ https://ihc.fcsh.unl.pt/en/events/resonance-reading-group-03/

#Histodons #BookClub #Sociology #CulturalStudies #ArtHistory #Performance #ClubeDeLeitura #EstudosCulturaos #HistóriaDaArte

🆕 Foi publicado mais um número da Aniki: Revista Portuguesa da Imagem em Movimento, o primeiro de 2026. Inclui o dossier temático "Espaços “Periféricos” Contemporâneos da Imagem em Movimento", editado por Filipa Rosário, André Francisco e Fran Rebelatto.

🔓 https://aim.org.pt/ojs/index.php/revista/issue/view/35

#Histodons #OpenAccess #MovingImage #AcessoAberto #ImagemEmMovimento #Periferias #Periphery #CriticalGeography #UrbanSociology #CulturalStudies #CulturalHistory #Geografia #SociologiaUrbana #EstudosCulturais

NEUERSCHEINUNG. Folklorezentren in der DDR - das sind Titel und Thema der Kleinen Reihe, Band 39, herausgegeben von Sönke Friedrich @isgv sowie Theresa Jacobs und Ines Keller (beide @serbskiinstitut #Bautzen ) #opensource #openaccess | Gedrucktes Heft erhältlich.

https://www.serbski-institut.de/neuerscheinung-folklorezentren-in-der-ddr/

#culturalstudies #sorabistik #lausitz #alltagskultur

Call for papers
Scotland & the In-Between
Société française d’études écossaises Annual Conference
12–14 November, Université de Lorraine (Nancy), France

The conference invites participants to consider the many forms of passage, transition, & mediation that have shaped Scottish history, literature, the arts, language, & culture.

Deadline: 28 April 2026

@litstudies

https://www.bars.ac.uk/blog/?p=6338

#Scottish #literature #history #culture #culturalstudies #callforpapers