Nothing to Remember? Politics, Practices, and Agents of Commemorating Peace
- Programme Flyer
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Nothing to Remember?
Politics, Practices, and Agents of Commemorating Peace
Conference at the GCSC/GGK,
Otto-Behaghel-Str. 12,
35394 Giessen,
GermanyJanuary 22-23, 2026
Download the detailed programme here
- Conference Abstract
- In memory studies, scholarly attention has long been drawn to the remembrance of crises, wars, and periods of violence. These critical junctures have been explored as sites of trauma, reconciliation, and the foundation for constructing collective identities. For instance, commemorating decolonization struggles has foregrounded the legacies of imperial violence, and narratives surrounding the World Wars have often been used to shape national identities and international relations. What is often overlooked is the memory of what happens in between the crises – the memories of peace. In academic, political, and everyday discussions, peace is either situated in the past or a distant future, never truly present today. In the first case, it is remembered as a ‘lost paradise’, a haunting reminder of a world that no longer exists. In the second, it is presented either as a realistic aspiration or as a utopia that remains on the horizon.
- Schedule
- Please find the symposium programme here (coming soon).
- Contact
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For questions, please contact
the Research Area 1: Cultural Memory Studies
at ra1.conferenceThe Organising Committee:
The conference is organised by the speakers and members of Research Area 1: Cultural Memory Studies at the International Graduate Centre for the Study of Culture.
Mortada Haidar, Katharina Hacker, Tatiana Quintero, Anjuli Trautmann, Anna Ivanova, Henning Tauche, Navid Nail, Emilio Aguas Rodriguez.