Call for Papers: The First World War Commemoration & Memory

Call for papers for one-day symposium, 27 February 2016, Imperial War Museum, North

Keynote speakers: Prof Jay Winter (Yale University) & Prof Maggie Andrews (University of Worcester)

The centenary anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War has initiated a wave of commemorative activities which impact on how the conflict is understood and remembered.This marks the latest phase in processes which began while the war was underway and which have been fought and re-fought in the intervening century. This symposium follows the pioneering lead of scholars including Jay Winter, Adrian Gregory, Maggie Andrews, Dan Todman and Mark Connelly to explore the contours and contestations of commemorating and remembering the First World War. It aims to embrace analysis of the multiplicities of war experiences and their representations (including those that have been neglected, under-represented and forgotten), further exploring international, national, regional and local trends and variations. We are keen to combine the latest academic scholarship with participation from heritage agencies, libraries, museums, archives, community groups and individual researchers, all of whom are invested in commemorating, remembering and understanding the conflict.

Abstracts for 20 minute papers are invited which focus on any aspect of First World War commemoration and/or memory. Suggested themes may include, but are not limited to:

• Rites and Rituals of Commemoration
• Memorialisation
• Myths & Memory
• Gendering
• Dominant Discourses, Representations & Forms
• Forgotten Experiences
• Forgotten Fronts
• Silences
• Commemorative Hierarchies
• Cultural Contexts of Commemoration and/or Remembering
• The Cultural Circuit
• The Mediatisation of Memory
• Regional Experiences
• Community Commemorative Projects
• The Centenary

SUBMISSIONS

Abstracts of 250 words should be accompanied by your name, institutional affiliation (if any) and a biographical statement (c. 100 words). We welcome applications from academics, postgraduate students, institutions & independent researchers, and further encourage applications from community groups wishing to present, or offer displays, regarding their commemorative projects and activities.

Accepted speakers and delegates will be charged a small conference fee and must arrange their own travel to and from the symposium. All submissions and enquiries should be sent to fwwnetwork@gmail.com by 17 July 2015

Organised by the Imperial War Museum North Postgraduate & Early Career Researchers Network for First World War Studies in conjunction with the IWM North and the AHRC First World War Engagement Centres.