Constructing Memory in Pre-modern East Central and Southeast Europe: Creation, Transformation, and Oblivion

Please send an abstract of about 250 words to: rassonj@ceu.hu and ziemannd@ceu.hu by December 20, 2011.

It seems like no week goes by without an announcement of a conference on memory; this evergreen topic continues to suggest new avenues of study. This workshop offers scholars opportunities to intensify their examination of the construction of memory (and oblivion) in East Central and Southeast Europe. We would like to move toward defining a theory (or theories) of memory.

It has been a long way from the notion of collective memory discussed by Maurice Halbwachs to the manifold treatments of memory today. Jan Assmann has elaborated the concept of a cultural memory as a means to store key elements of past civilizations. Paul Ricœur has emphasised the variability and active role of different memories as well as the need of oblivion within historical circumstances. Others have expressed other views.

Recent works have elaborated on the specific conditions for constructing different kinds of memories under particular historical circumstances. Memory can be seen as a conscious means for stabilizing structures of political power by the ruling elites. Memory can also emerge spontaneously from other social groups which create and use memory for their own ends. Sub-conscious but powerful aspects of memory can arise from traumatic (or ordinary) experiences of individuals or groups.

The interest in memory is much more than a mere passing fashion or the interest of a certain generation of scholars. History relies on different forms of constructed memories; information about past societies is selected and transformed using different techniques of transmitting information. All historical sources represent cultural memory to some extent. Exploring the construction of memory is therefore nothing less than exploring the very sources of the historical sciences.

This workshop will broaden the traditional view of memory. Special emphasis will be put on the inherent mechanisms of constructing memory in certain places and/or the use of different cultural elements for creating or transforming memories. Discussions will address the social and cultural dynamics that go into the establishment, use, and dis-use of memory/memorials in East Central and Southeast Europe.

Papers should address issues of memory construction (and/or oblivion) suggested by (but not limited to) the following:

• Pre-Modern concepts of memory
• The creation of memory in medieval and Pre-modern written sources
• Material culture expressing memory
• The creation and abandonment of places of memory
• Cultural influences on the construction of memory
• Memory in historical discourse
• The need for oblivion
• How different forms of memory appear in history
• Comparative uses of memory in Pre-modern East Central and Southeast Europe
• Elements of a theory of memory