Balzan Summer Seminar: Urban Change and Memory
19. August 2019
New Perspectives on Europe and Beyond
Summer School der Balzan-Preis-Forschergruppe
Cities are crucial spaces for the negotiation of a contested past. This summer seminar explores the making of memory in European cities. It aims to:
- discuss methods of Memory Studies and Urban Studies
- examine some of the main threads of urban change in Europe and beyond, including post-industrial transformations, shrinking cities vs.rapid growth, migration and increasing diversities; entral debates on memory politics and contested commemoration processes in urban spaces from a diverse perspective, i.e. post-conflict cities, symbolic representations and memory sites (e.g. memorials, monuments and museums)
- delve into the heart of memorial controversies by focusing on dynamics in specific urban situations, including Lodz, Madrid, Paris,and Sarajevo
- highlight practices of invited curators, artists, and other professionals.
Lectures and discussions will be conducted in English.
Learning goals
Students will be introduced to central concepts and methods of Memory and Urban Studies and their relationship to space in urban contexts. By pairing theoretical debates with case studies, we also aim to explore the emergence of memory practices ‘from below’ that reshape collective memory and identity, analyzing how they relate to official politics of the past. The seminar discussions across disciplinary and geographic boundaries will serve to identify new emerging patterns of collective, cultural and social memory and its representations and traces in the city. We will focus on the two main questions:
- What is the role of memory sites in processes of dealing with a conflictive past? Who are the central actors behind its creation?
- How does the urban representation of contested memory shape the historical narrative, and by extension identities, communities, and societies in urban European settings?
Mo-So, 19.-25. August 2019
Kulturwissenschaftliches Kolleg (Bischofsvilla), Otto-Adam-Str. 5, Konstanz
Kontakt
Ann-Sophie Schoepfel ann-sophie.schoepfel[at]uni-konstanz.de
- Dateien:
Programme_Summer_School_Urban_Change_and_Memory.pdf360 Ki