Co-operatives and “the social question” – ideology, networks and organizing

This workshop will highlight the multi-layered historicity of the Nordic welfare states through an exploration of understandings of “the social question" in the early 20th century in the context of the co-operative movement. Co-operative ideology often emphasised the need for economic and social integration, while at the same time retaining a marked sense of independence from the state. Studies of this movement may therefore add to our understanding of the significance of the state in the Nordic countries and beyond, allow for an exploration of further aspects of the relationship between citizens and state. The seminar discusses how the co-operative ideologies were introduced in north-eastern Europe, and how the social aspects of co-operative ideology were stressed in different contexts. The transmission of ideas and the contacts between Nordic and other co-operatives are also examined.

Program

OPENING
10.00-10.15

Pirjo Markkola (Åbo Akademi University)

I NETWORKS AND TRANSMISSION OF IDEAS
10.15-12.15

Mary Hilson (University College London)
Nordic contacts in the development of the co-operative movement c. 1890-1939

Dorottya Szikra (Eötvös University, Budapest)
The Hungarian cooperative movement and the transmission of ideas

Comments: Pauli Kettunen (University of Helsinki), Fredrik Eriksson (Södertörn University College)

12.15 Lunch

II MOBILISATION AND PATTERNS OF ORGANIZING
13.15-15.15

Johan Eellend (Södertörn University College)
Agricultural cooperatives as civil society, Estonia c. 1900-1915

Ann-Catrin Östman (Åbo Akademi University)
The early introduction of cooperative ideas in Finland: understandings of masculinity and class, c. 1899-1919

Comments: Markku Hyrkkänen (University of Tampere), Mary Hilson (University College London)

15.15 Coffee

III THE ROLE AND POSITION OF CO-OPERATIVE ORGANIZING
15.45-17.45

Piotr Wawrzeniuk (Södertörn University College)
Ukrainian cooperatives in Austrian Galicia as a tool of societal change, 1900-1939

Katalin Miklossy (University of Helsinki)
Co-operatives and the third way

Comments: Silke Neunsinger (Labour Movement Archives and Library), Niels Finn Christiansen (University of Copenhagen)

Organisers:
The NCoE NordWel: The Nordic Welfare State - Historical Foundations and Future Challenges, thematic group 1, and Department of History, Åbo Akademi University.

Organising team: Pirjo Markkola, Ann-Catrin Östman, Mary Hilson.
For more information, contact Ann-Catrin Östman ann-catrin.ostman@abo.fi or Pirjo Markkola pirjo.markkola@abo.fi