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For info:


Using the War:
Changing memories of World War Two
2005 CONFERENCE:
Oral History Society with King's College, London
Friday 1st to Sunday 3rd July 2005 at King's College, London

 This international oral history conference marks the 60th anniversary
of the end of the Second World War.  It seeks to address the War's
consequences and legacy in the memories of participants and for
successive generations. The conference is organized with two major
themes which reflect the ways in which the War continues in many
countries to play a part in historical consciousness and everyday life.
Remembering, Forgetting
and Silence
The conference will explore how different individuals who lived through
the war choose to remember or choose to forget their experiences.  What
are reasons for this?  What are the relationships of individual memories
to dominant historical discourses?
In exploring this we also want to uncover the costs and rewards of
remembering the war in relation to a range of perspectives from the
psychological (trauma) to the economic (pensions).  Within this we are
interested in encouraging papers, presentations, posters and displays
that explore the changing nature of these perspectives.
We also want to invite papers that address the issues of
intergenerational communication of memories of war.  What impact does
remembering and forgetting have on the individuals themselves and their
families and other potential audiences?  What does it mean for those
(and their families) whose war experiences are hidden from history?  Or,
how are those who cannot talk about their experiences recalled by
others?
A final strand within this theme is mythic memories, including the
adoption of 'war identities'.
Using memories of War
Another major theme of the conference will be the ways in which memories
of the conflict have been used in the production and use of history.
This includes the use of social memory in establishing and maintaining
(or not preserving) memorialisation and in the commemoration of the
conflict.  Does this have a particular resonance for displaced peoples?
Our second theme also includes the ways in which oral history and
reminiscence have been employed by the media and in education to
publicly represent the War both in histories and in the ways this
representation has been used to 'frame' and 'benchmark' the memories of
subsequent conflicts.  Has the use of memories changed media and
education representations of the War?  Similarly, we are calling for
papers that consider how reconciliation events and battlefield tourism
has shaped memories of war.
In considering how memories of war are used, we would also want to
invite the participation of those who have utilized these memories in
reminiscence as a therapeutic intervention.  For example, does
remembering the War always promote wellbeing?
Anyone interested in participating should submit a 250 word abstract to
Belinda Waterman, University of Essex, [log in to unmask] by 30 June
2004 (we will be responding to potential participants in September).

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