cfp.english.upenn.edu

The Great War: From Memory to History

An Inter-disciplinary Conference at The University of Western Ontario

10-12 November, 2011

There are now only a handful of surviving veterans of the Great War. Within a few years, we will lose even those who lived through the war as children on the home front. At that point, the war will pass from memory to history. This critical transition is at the heart of an international conference that seeks to examine the experience of the Great War from a wide range of disciplines and perspectives, including the humanities, the social sciences, and the arts.

A series of questions guide our discussions:

-What are the roles of scholars, journalists, museums and artists in interpreting the war for future generations?

-Since 1918, what changes have there been in the role of living witnesses in interpreting the war?

-What is the relationship between scholarly debates about the war, and popular perceptions?

-What resonance does the Great War have in modern societies?

-How has the Great War affected perceptions of subsequent conflicts?

Areas to be considered include, but are not limited to, veterans, the war’s popular conceptions, its literary and cultural representations, collective memory, grief and mourning, religion and spiritualism, and military technology.

We invite submissions from interested individuals, inside and outside of academe, on these matters. In a one-page proposal, please outline your paper, provide brief biographical details, and include full contact information. The conference committee will endeavour to publish the proceedings of the conference.
Funding may be available to assist presenters traveling a considerable distance.

Abstracts can be submitted to greatwar@uwo.ca no later than 15 February 2011.

The University of Western Ontario, Dept. of History, Social Science Centre, Room 4328,
London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5C2

greatwar@uwo.ca