Call for Papers: THE FUTURE OF THE PAST: REPRESENTING THE HOLOCAUST, GENOCIDE, AND MASS TRAUMA IN THE 21ST CENTURY

The inaugural cross-institutional and inter-disciplinary conference convened by Deakin University and the Jewish Holocaust Centre, to be held in Melbourne, Australia, will be held on 6-8 July, 2014 in Deakin University and the Jewish Holocaust Centre, Melbourne.

‘Questions about the ethics of representation are gaining urgency at a time when ever more diverse forms of Holocaust representation are emerging worldwide…’    

 —Libby Saxton, Haunted Images: Film, Ethics, Testimony and the Holocaust

The proliferation of depictions of the Holocaust and other traumatic events in popular culture and elsewhere demands continued attention to the means by which complex human experiences are communicated to and negotiated by contemporary audiences. From Anne Rothe’s Popular Trauma Culture to Alvin H. Rosenfeld’s The End of the Holocaust, recent scholarship has engaged with the ethics of different representational strategies—strategies that become progressively diverse with expanding technological innovations. Yet many questions remain unanswered. This conference aims to expose and explore key issues relating to the Holocaust, genocide and mass trauma, contributing to ongoing debates over historical and cultural representation. Paper proposals might address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

●    The limitations and possibilities of digital media in depicting traumatic pasts

●    New research in Holocaust and genocide film, literature, art, and testimony

●    The future of remembering traumatic events in monuments and museums

●    Mediating gender, sexual violence, and trauma

●    The politics of identification and reception in representations of perpetrators

●    The appropriation of the Holocaust as a metaphor for contemporary traumas

●    Mediating trauma in the now via mobile screens and instant uploads

●    Pedagogical uses of genocide representations in and out of the classroom

Please submit a 200 word abstract and short biographical statement for paper proposals to Adam Brown abrown@deakin.edu.au and Danielle Christmas dchris20@uic.eduby 31 October 2013. Panel proposals will also be accepted, which should include a brief 200 word outline of the panel as a whole followed by individual abstracts and bios. ‘Lightning sessions’ (of 5 minute presentations with discussion) will be available for students who do not wish to present a full paper.

Please identify this preference and submit a 100-150 word abstract consisting of a short summary of research, a specific case-study, or a methodological problem. A number of travel/accommodation bursaries will be available–please see the conference website for details.

A selection of papers from the conference will be published as a special issue of a peer-reviewed journal. Full details of the conference are available at:

https://futureofthepast2014.wordpress.com/