Call for Papers: Conference “Reclaiming History: Memory Politics in Central and Eastern Europe”

As part of the conference, which will take place on 3–4 May 2013 in Minsk, the organisers plan to analyse the main strategies for implementing historical politics in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, identify specific and common features of work with the past, and examine the relationship between memory politics and the broader context of political and cultural transformations in post-communist countries.

The aim of the conference is to create a platform for interaction between the academic and expert communities of the region in order to deepen understanding and research on the problems of memory politics in Eastern Europe.

The following three key themes, which appear to us most significant for understanding the region’s shared cultural and historical heritage, will be proposed for analysis and discussion at the conference:

1. A common past or autonomous national histories? Memory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the states of Central and Eastern Europe.

2. Kastus Kalinouski and the uprising of 1863: a conflict of interpretations 150 years later.

3. The communist past: between overcoming and restoration in post-communist countries.

Main organisers:

Political Sphere Institute (Belarus)

Institute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lithuania)

Instytut Polski (Minsk, Belarus)

Vytautas Magnus University (Kaunas, Lithuania)

Institute of Lithuanian History (Vilnius, Lithuania)

Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Belarus (Lithuania)

The working languages of the conference are Belarusian, Russian, English and Polish.

The approximate number of participants is 40.

Technical details

To participate in the international conference, please send:

1) a CV in any working language;

2) an abstract of 2,000–3,000 characters in any working language;

3) please also indicate in the letter whether visa support is required.

Applications should be sent to info @ palityka.org by 3 March 2013.

The organisers will apply for a free Belarusian visa.

In individual cases, reimbursement of accommodation and travel expenses may be considered.