European representations of the last century have been largely shaped by a Western perspective. This also applies to the realm of academic study of social memory. The purpose of this conference was to reflect on the methodology and the state of memory research in Central and Eastern Europe. This region entered the twentieth century with unresolved social problems engendered by belated modernisation and profound ethnic and religious divisions. It suffered not only two world wars but also experienced genocide, border changes, population resettlements, and political and economic experiments on a scale unseen in the Western part of the continent. Finally, it entered the global order at the close of the century.
With the “Genealogies of memory” conference series, we hope to establish the relevance of studies on memory in Central and Eastern Europe for memory research in other parts of the world. We would also like to sketch a map of European research schools on memory, with particular reference to theoretical proposals which either originated in Central and Eastern Europe or are used to study the memory of this region.
The first conference in the series took place at the University of Warsaw Library (Dobra 56/66) on 23-25 Nov. 2011 in Warsaw.International scholars from various disciplines joined the debate on the history and theory of memory. The keynote lecture was given by ProfessorAleida Assmann (University of Konstanz). The final discussion was introduced by Professor Jeffrey Olick (University of Virginia).
Please check the webpage for conference details and further developments of the “Genealogies of memory” project.