Cultural Memory of War and Conflict

From Apartheid in South-Africa to 9/11 in the United States: there is not a single culture that is not shaped by the memory of war or conflict. This minor focuses on how such memory culture works through and influences societies today. How do these memories contribute to the construction of religious, national and transnational identities?

We will analyze the afterlife of such catastrophes as Slavery, the Armenian Genocide, WW II or 9/11. How are they remembered, archived, mediated? You will learn to understand how governments, institutions, minority groups, survivors or artists create, repeat, manipulate or critique memory culture. This means that students learn to analyze and interpret the effects of different (new) media and various forms of transfer and construction of memory: archives, websites, lieux de mémoire, monuments, tourism, testimonies, art and literature.

In the course Global Memory Practices, the focus will be on the social tensions and transformations produced by contesting and contested memories. In the other courses, emphasis is on memory-construction in both individual and collective context, on trauma and on the cultural representation of these violent events in media. Cultural memory is produced through rituals, stories, monuments, newspapers, but also comic books or theme parks. What are the effects of such representations and practices?

You will learn how to inquire into the dynamics of remembering and forgetting of major political, ethnic and religious conflicts with global ramifications. In papers and assignments you are stimulated to apply the theory and method to a case from your own background or field of study. Thus you develop skills that will be of value in for example a profession in international relations, law, politics, heritage, cultural transfer, education or media and journalism.

This minor is very suitable for students who follow the BA International Studies. It is possible in BAIS to divide your minor over two semesters, only you will need to contact your coordinator of studies, to adapt your third year programme.

Maximum number of participants: 50
Prospectus number: 5000MCMWCN
Class number: 1370
Language: English