CFP: A Tool for Fostering Resilience? New Challenges in Memory Studies I and II (Deadline: September 24, 2015)
CFP: A Tool for Fostering Resilience? New Challenges in Memory Studies I and II
Deadline: September 24, 2015
Call for Papers:
A Tool for Fostering Resilience? New Challenges in Memory Studies I and II
23rd International Conference of Europeanists
Resilient Europe?
Philadelphia, USA• April 14-16, 2016
Citizens, policy makers and academics have long struggled with how to deal publicly with experiences of human rights violations, dictatorships and totalitarianism. During the two consecutive remembrance years 2014 and 2015, the active promotion of reconciliation and commemorative policies has become regarded as a tool that can foster resilience in times of crisis, especially in Europe. Educators and politicians have therefore paid increasing attention to Memory Studies – a field that has until recently been relatively specialized and thus lacks a clear set of definitions, theoretical frameworks, and methodologies.
The inherent interdisciplinarity of the field has led to a wealth of different approaches, methods and techniques that we will map and build upon in two panels organized for the next Conference of Europeanists taking place in Philadelphia, April 14-16, 2016. After a successful launch of the Research Network on Transnational Memory and Identity in Paris in 2015, we now seek to undertake some groundwork, in order to make more rigorous and cumulative memory research possible. Panel I will deal with theoretical frameworks, Panel II will be dedicated to methods, techniques and ethical considerations in Memory Studies. We welcome paper proposals from all disciplines that address either theory or methodology, broadly conceived. We are especially (but not exclusively) interested in papers examining questions such as:
- how has memory theory developed during the recent “memory boom”?
- what can we learn from the “classics” (new and old) in Memory Studies?
- can we truly be interdisciplinary and how?
- which theorists or frameworks can make an innovative contribution to Memory Studies?
- what are some of the key ethical dilemmas of conducting memory research and how might they be addressed?
- which methodologies and methodological techniques are well-suited to Memory Studies? Is a multi-methods approach possible and how?
Paper proposals (250 words abstracts) and a short bio should be sent to aline.sierp@maastrichtuniversity.nl and jwustenberg@gmail.com by 24 September.