Memory Studies conference in Athens

The interdisciplinary Memory Studies Conference entitled ‘Memory, Peace and Security’ will take place on the 9 and 10 November in Athens, Greece.

The event aims to look into the tension between the loud past of official history and those forgotten pasts we strain to hear, as expressed via different media, and as addressed in many disciplines.

The tension between memory as private, personal, and the spectacle of official history is especially poignant, and will be investigated by a gathering of international scholars.

It shall illuminates what has been selected for remembering and why; allows for alternative memories and understandings to emerge, and speaks to several disciplines on a particular note focused on understanding of the flow and juxtaposition of knowledge.

The conference is open to the public, and will be held at the Uindy Athens Cultural Center of the University of Indianapolis, in Plaka, starting at 10 am.

On the occasion Dr. Leonara Flis’ new book, Factual Fictions, Narrative Truth and the Contemporary American Documentary Novel (Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2010) will be presented.

A work of great interest, Dr. Flis’s book was presented recently in New York, and defined as one of the most valid contributions to the field, Factual Fictions offers an interesting take on what the factual is when it comes to writing a novel. Employing pluralistic methodological approaches, with a mastery in the use of diverse philosophical thesis, the author successfully explores the place the documentary novel holds in the context of the cultural and literary postmodern age. As a result, she exposes effectively the documentary novel’s fluidity, and points the attention of the reader on the role of subjectivity in it – as there is no clear border between fiction and fact, and even historical examples of nonfiction contain a lot of made-up material.

Regarding the arts, the Exhibition ‘The faces of memory’ will present the work of renowned artist Cristina Treppo, with the musical and textual contribution of Dr. Tiziano Possamai.

As Carlo Sala stated in ‘The uncertain state of things – conversation with Cristina Treppo’(2011), “a delicate air of suspension pervades Cristina Treppo’s works. The daily objects in them have lost any functional connotation and become elements that give a reflection on time and memory. The wax binds together different elements that emanate a private, almost whispered feeling. In this game of shapes, emotional moments flow, made of welcoming and gentleness as well as pain and imposition.”

Finally, the workshop ‘Screenwriting the memory’ will be run as an open contribution in the art of screenwriting as related to history and memory.

For further information, please visit the conference site:  http://memojournal.com/

Romana Turina