Post-Conflict,
Cultural Heritage and Regional Development: An International Conference
Date: 9-11 October 2013, Wageningen, The Netherlands
The Liberation Day Committee 1945 Wageningen (as member
of the European Network of Places of Peace), Wageningen University and
Inholland University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands, are organizing an
international conference, on the overarching theme of post-conflict, cultural
heritage and regional development. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the event initially
scheduled for 2012 has had to be postponed for which any inconvenience is
regretted. However, we are pleased to announce the new date for the event, and
invite individuals to (re)submit abstracts for paper presentations and panel
proposals.
Conflicts sometimes lead to violent encounters that
result in casualties and damage to infrastructure, housing and the environment.
Often, traumatic experiences brought about by these become the subject of
commemorations that contribute to places linked to them gaining material,
social and/or symbolic significance, within the locality, country or even regionally.
This is particularly true when residents and policymakers actively implement
initiatives to embrace them as part of collective memory, pedagogy and/or as
local heritage attractions for domestic and international visitors. Every year
thousands, sometimes millions, of people visit places like Auschwitz, Ground
Zero, Hiroshima, Choeung Ek and Gettysburg. Wageningen, marked as the City
of Liberation, and the setting for this international conference, also
attracts more than 100,000 visitors annually as part of national commemoration
and liberation festivals in the Netherlands. These are testament to the popularity
of these sites although they too can at times be plagued with criticisms and
controversy, pertaining to issues like commercialization, sustainability,
multiple interpretations of history and so on.
This conference seeks to further our understanding of the
perceptions, processes and problems that are related to some of these places of
former conflicts that have, over time, been transformed into key sites for
memory, education and consumption, or even commodification. The multidisciplinary conference considers the social,
political, economic and developmental dimensions as well as potential of such
places alongside highlighting issues associated with the establishment of such heritage
sites. It also explores how these sites may be developed as ¡®peace
institutions¡¯ that aim to encourage the prevention of future conflicts. We
welcome case studies drawn from the Netherlands as well as from other
international contexts. Selected authors may be invited to contribute
chapters/articles for a book or special journal issue.
Relevant
topics may include (but not be limited to):
- Landscape, post-conflict identity and ¡®difficult¡¯ heritage;
- Post-conflict cities/heritage of conflict in
postcolonial cities;
- Historical geographies and genealogies of places of war and peace;
- Social, economic and political impacts of places of war and peace;
- Interpreting conflict sights and the handling
of multiple narratives;
- Educational potential of trauma sites, and related problems;
- Commodification of conflicts into heritage
tourism;
- Conflict and the politics of truth and
reconciliation;
- City branding issues in cities where
conflict is within living memory;
- Sites of dark tourism: potentials, perspectives,
and problems;
- Sites of former conflict as ¡®shared¡¯ spaces/peace institutions; etc.
Proposals for paper presentations/sessions on or related
to any issues related to the abovementioned topics are welcome. Please do not
hesitate to contact us if you have queries.
Confirmed keynote speakers
¡¤
Professor Karen Till (Geography, NUI Maynooth).
¡¤
Professor Gregory Ashworth (University of Groningen).
¡¤
Dr. Philip Stone (University of Central Lancashire).
Guidelines
Abstracts of papers, in the range of 300 to 400 words, should be sent to
[log in to unmask]" href="mailto:[log in to unmask]" target="_blank">[log in to unmask]. The abstract should clearly indicate the paper¡¯s main
arguments, its connection to the theme(s) of the conference, as well as briefly
on the adopted methodology. Proposals for panel sessions should also include a
brief description of the collective theme(s) of the papers that are to be included
in the session.
A short biography of the speaker should also be included,
containing relevant information about the author's academic background.
Deadlines for Submissions:
(REVISED) Deadline for abstracts: 21
June 2013
Deadline
for acceptance: 3 August 2013
More Information
www.peaceconference.org
Tags: peace, conflict, cultural heritage, commemoration,
regional development, sustainable development, dark tourism, battlefield
tourism, environment, governance, anthropology, sociology.