Tallinn University, Estonian Institute of Humanities; Centre for Medieval Studies; Institute for Central-Eastern Europe and the Balkans, University of Bologna.
The organisers invite M.A. and Ph.D. students of Anthropology, Cultural Theory, History, Human and Cultural Geography, Literary Studies, Politics, Sociology, and in related fields to participate in the 5th Tallinn Summer School in Social and Cultural Studies. The course will investigate the role of memory in different cultures and collectivities and the possibility to find dominant uniform patterns. The course will analyze the relation between individuals'' memories and collective memories and the eventual subsistence of a "collective memory”, the differentways of memory construction and transmission and how collectivities'' memories are manifested in historical and fictional narratives, visual artworks, laws and constitutions, commemorative practices, or landscapes.
The course will investigate the influence of political, social, economic, cultural or religious concerns on collective memory, considering that some events are lamented or celebrated across generations, but some are quickly forgotten, tryingto answer the question: “What (or, who?) has the power to guide the processes of remembering?” Finally, how to find one''s bearings in the multi-disciplinary studies of memory: could - and should - one integrate and adapt the theories and methods offered by various
disciplines for studying the various representations and languages of memory?
In order to do that, the Summer School approaches the role of memory in an inter-disciplinary framework,comprising Anthropology, Cultural Theory, History, Literary Theory, Philosophy, Politics, Postcolonial Studies and Sociology, and draws on a range of international specialists.
Preliminary programme 2007
26 July Keynote lecture: Performing Memory. Prof. emerit. Peter Burke (University of Cambridge)
27 July Preliminary Definitions.
Memory as a central and disputed topic in different fields of humanities. The concepts of individual, collective and social memory. Memory and the perception of time and space. Memory, memory regimes, identity.
Tutors: Prof. Maurice Bloch (London School of Economics), Prof. Jeffrey K. Olick (University of
Virginia)
Student workshop
28 July
(Re)Construction of the Past: Displacement and Replacement. The development of general historical discourse. What is the difference between history and memory? How do political andsocial concerns impact on the rewriting and recycling of historical discourses? How do various communities and their conflicting histories compete for the hegemony of remembrance and
commemoration?
Tutors: Prof. Juri Kivimae (University of Toronto), Dr. Karsten Bruggemann (Nordost-Institut,
Luneburg)
Field-trip to the post-soviet monument landscapes in Tallinn. Tutor: Dr. Helen Sooväli
(Tallinn University).
29 July
The Politics of Memory in Changing Societies. The relationship of memory to power and to guilt and trauma. Does research into a recent traumatic past (e.g. Nazi, Communist, colonial) lead necessarily to revenge, ressentiment and national division? Does silence about the past mean forgetfulness? What are different ways in which changing national collectivities confront their
pasts? What do guilt and responsibility mean for the stability of contemporary democracies?
Tutors: Dr. Siobhan Kattago (Tallinn University), Prof. György Schöpflin (MEP for Hungary,
formerly University College London)
Student workshop
30 July
Layers of Memory: field-trip to the landscapes and topoi of memory in Western Estonia.
Tutor: Dr. Helen Sooväli (Tallinn University)
31 July - 1 August
Collective Memory in Arts: the politics and the poetics. The role and genric specificities of the arts in representing and constructing individual and collective memory. How do public and collective endeavours (public monuments, belles lettres curricula) reflect or shape individual memories and cultural beliefs? Changing arts in changing societies; symbolic choices and theirpolitical consequences; art as conserver/innovator of cultural memory.
Tutors: Dr. Patricia D''Allemand (University of London), Ms. Eneken Laanes (Under and Tuglas
Literature Centre of the Estonian Academy of Sciences), Prof. Irina Novikova (University of
Latvia)
Student workshop.
August 2
Memory and Anthropology: (In)Comparable Memories. What has anthropology contributed to the study of memory and what role has memory played in anthropology? Can memory be compared? What are the possibilities and limits of a transcultural and comparative approaches to memory? What are the relationships between history, memory, antimemory, legitimation,
trauma and suffering? What do the comparative variations in these relations tell about memory processes and practices?Tutor: Dr. Lorenzo Canas Bottos (Tallinn University)
Student workshop
Registration deadline:
Application procedure for students enrolled at the University of Bologna: students wishing to participate must send in an application by 15 May 2007, containing a short summary of their M.A. or Ph.D. project and a CV. The students should send their applications as attached Word.doc files to Dr. Camilla Bruschi: eurobalk@spbo.unibo.it
Notification of acceptance: 20 May 2007
Non-refundable registration fee: 100 EUR, payable by 1 June 2007
The course fee: 150 EUR, payable by 1 June 2007
http://137.204.115.130/activities/download/TallinnSS2007/Call_for_Application_TSS2007.pdf
