Abstracts dedicated to the Swiss trade unionist Emil Friedrich Rimensberger are invited for the conference Building Corporatist Europe at the University of Zurich from 27 to 28 November 2025 (see next page).
Rimensberger was active in the international trade union movement and served as social attaché in Washington after 1945. He addressed issues of international labour relations, particularly various forms of corporatism, in his writings and diplomatic work. His diaries and articles contain reflections on social partnership models and Catholic and fascist variants of corporatism.
The aim of the contribution is to provide an analysis of Rimensberger’s intellectual biography in the context of European debates on corporatism in the 20th century.
The Rimensberger estate in the Archives of Contemporary History at ETH Zurich serves as the source base. Funding is available to cover travel and research costs.
The organisers will also provide support with preliminary research, access to archives and editing assistance.
To apply for this conference paper, please send a 500-word abstract to jonas.pluess@uzh.ch by 1 September 2025.