Concept

Thinking Memory Through Space: Materiality, Representation, & Imagination 

Symposium
July 11-12, 2013


Supported by:
Marie Curie SPBuild Initial Training Network
Bosnian Bones, Spanish Ghosts, Goldsmiths College / European Research Council
Held at:
Goldsmiths College, University of London
Organizing institutions:
Goldsmiths University of London - Anthropology Department
Spanish National Research Council [CSIC] –
Institute of Philosophy and Institute of Language, Literature and Anthropology
Concept and Organization:
Zahira Araguete, Goldsmiths, University of London -z.araguete@gold.ac.uk
Pamela Colombo, CCHS-CSIC – pamela.colombo@cchs.csic.es
Lee Elizabeth Douglas, New York University & CCHS-CSIC – lee.douglas@nyu.edu
Marije Hristova, Maastricht University & CCHS-CSIC – marije.hristova@gmail.com

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What does it mean to remember through space? Why is it important, or indeed necessary, to analyze memory and space conjointly? Is it possible to remember without or outside of space? In this symposium, we will critically engage with the complex relationship between memory and space.  In order to do this, we propose a series of panels that will theoretically expand upon the following three dimensions: 
Marks on Space:  The space we inhabit possesses material marks from the past.  In the post-violence context, these spatial marks can refer to specific traumatic events or to the physical disappearance and erasure of things, persons, and traces. Do the material traces on particular spaces support, catalyze, or hinder processes of remembering 
Preserved Spaces: In some post-conflict contexts, past events may be deliberately preserved in space through processes of conservation or through the creation of monuments and memorials. This aspect of the memory-space relationship points to disputes over how to protect spaces that possess material marks from the past and over how to produce new memorial inscriptions onto spaces that are not linked to sites of violence. The memory-space relationship is important to consider when analyzing the construction and uses of spaces, like archives, designed specifically to conserve and preserve the “traces of the past”. 
Relational Space: Lastly, there is the work of collective and individual memory that allows for the discovery of experiences in the present from other temporal and spatial locations. This analytic dimension enables us to put a special emphasis on the way memory processes are carried out in, through, and apropos space. How do people remember spatially? To what extent do memories correspond to the material realities of particular spaces? And in contrast, how does space affect the way individuals and collectivities remember the past? Furthermore, how are personal or individual memories of violence mediated by transnationally circulating memory narratives? How can victims’ narratives about the spaces where they experienced violence help us understand the larger mechanics of oppressive, exclusionary regimes?  

This symposium aims to create a space in which to discuss, analyze, and critically engage with the topic of post-violence memory. Paying close attention to the ways in which particular places and sites of violence are materially experienced, represented, and even imagined, the symposium seeks to literally Think Memory Through Space. 
The two-day event will be organized around four central themes in which we want to pair academic "experts" with early career researchers in order to generate productive discussions about specific research projects and about broader theoretical concerns in analyses of memory. 

To book a place email: thinkingmemorythroughspace@gmail.com