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Call for Papers
ESF Exploratory Workshop on
Medieval Memories: Case Studies, Definitions, Contexts

Date: September 3-5, 2007
Location: Vila Lanna, Prague, Czech Republic
Organizer: Center for Theoretical Study, Prague (www.cts.cuni.cz)

The topic of memory has attracted attention of a number of scholars from various disciplines in recent years. It has been approached from a variety of points of view and placed into a great number of contexts. Yet, the term remains quite vague since different scholars understand it differently and there is no real communication among them. The aim of the workshop is to discuss and define the possible perspectives and approaches, to look for possible directions of further research on the subject within medieval studies including history, philosophy, social history, manuscript studies, philology, art history, archaeology, literary history and criticism, every day life history, and cultural history. Rather than providing purely methodological contributions, the speakers are invited to present particular medieval case studies, on the basis of which the common discussion will move to a more general level. The organizers believe that in spite of having become a major (and perhaps !
 too fashionable) issue in scholarship, the topic of memory is far from being exhausted and is very promising, provided that it is approached with open mind and methodological precision.
While the discussion will be restricted to the Middle Ages (ca. 300-1500), it will address a variety of meanings and contexts including but not limited to:
artes memoriae, practical processes of storing and recuperating knowledge
memory as creative art
memory and ethics
construction of the self
memory and ritual re-enacting, performance
places of memory, material culture
theoretical and medical discourse on memory
memory and writing
memoria versus reminiscentia and oblivio
memory in Byzantium and in the Arab world
memory and authority
passages from individual to collective memory
remembering and reconstructing the past

In order to provide ample time for discussion, which forms a crucial part of the event, individual papers are limited to 20 minutes. Please, send an abstract and a brief statement on your affiliation and research interests by February 28, 2007, to dolezalova_at_cts.cuni.cz.
Thanks to the generous support of European Science Foundation, there is no registration fee, the travel costs of the participants from the ESF-member countries will be reimbursed, their meals and accommodation covered. The workshop will be followed by an excursion to medieval monuments of Southern Bohemia on September 6-7. Publication of the proceedings is planned. For further details, please, contact Lucie Doležalová at dolezalova_at_cts.cuni.cz, CTS, Jilská 1, Praha 11000, Czech Republic, phone: +420605-758079.

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Received on Sat Jan 06 2007 - 18:56:03 EST