Polish Academy of Sciences Scientific Centre in Vienna invites academics, in particular early-stage researchers, to submit abstracts for a conference and a conference publication Assassins of Memory Political and legal problems of uncovering, whitewashing and rewriting history (19 November 2021, Vienna, Austria). The ENRS is among the conference partners.
About the Conference
The conference will provide philosophical, political and legal input to the discussion of politics of history and the broader aspect of memory as an essential part of political strategic planning. The problematic aspects of individual countries’ history and the politicians' exploiting them in public discussion are part of a particularly heated debate in contemporary Europe, where facts have to face their public reinterpretation. The perception of history may be influenced by both the mental dimension - as an element of political discourse, and the legal dimension - as changes in law consolidating certain officially recognized states. These practices may influence the perception of history both positively (as preserving certain inviolable facts) and negatively (whitening the history, rewriting it, highlighting only selected elements). The issue of transitional justice will be at the centre of the discussion. Indicative, non-exhaustive list of topics (abstract proposals for papers on topics not included in the list are encouraged and will be considered):
• memory laws and the issue of penalizing statements concerning historical facts
• moral, philosophical and cultural foundations of the memory laws
• protection of historical memory in international law
• national and international jurisprudence on the limits of freedom of expression relating to the past
• decommunization, denazification and fairness of the legal solutions of the transitional period in Central and Eastern Europe against a comparative background
Format of the Conference and the Conference Publication
The conference will be held in a hybrid format. The organizers hope that it will be possible for the majority of speakers to meet in Vienna, but some presentations may be delivered online. Invited speakers will have their travel expenses reimbursed and accommodation will be provided by the organisers. The conference proceedings will be published as a book volume by a renewed international publisher. More details will follow soon.
Timeline and Submissions
Interested researchers are invited to submit a paper abstract (maximum 1000 characters) by September 30, 2021.
Abstracts should be sent to: sonia.horonziak@vienna.pan.pl.
Please include your name and affiliation in the e-mail and indicate whether you are interested in participating in the conference on site or remotely. Submission is also possible without a conference presentation (submission for publication in the aforementioned book). Selected scholars will be contacted by October 7, 2021 with all the publication and conference details. The deadline for submission of final papers is January 31, 2022 so as to leave the authors enough time to incorporate feedback received during the conference.