[Discussion] Gendering Memory

[Gonul Pultar]

Call for papers: Gendering Memory, January 2005
International workshop
University of Mannheim, Germany
21-22 January 2005
(organizers: Prof. Dr. Susanne Maurer, University of Marburg Germany, 
Prof. Dr. Sylvia Paletschek, University of Freiburg Germany, Prof. Dr. 
Sylvia Schraut, University of Mannheim Germany, Frauen&Geschichte 
Baden-Württemberg Germany)

Today, culture of memory is a catch-word used to characterise many 
debates around the regional, national, or European public memory. Broad 
national publication projects such as Lieux de mémoire (Pierre Nora) or 
German places of memory (by Etienne Francois / Hagen Schulze) show the 
academic efforts concerning the respective national memory. From a 
historical point of view the development of cultures of memory in Europe 
is characterised by some specific traits:

Public tradition-building and culture of memory are historically closely 
linked to the development of nation states and the shaping of national 
identities during the 19th century. The national cultures of memory 
formed in the 19th century are, comparable to the development of 
democratic participation characterised by either the late inclusion of 
women or the relatively weak presence of women; female scopes of action, 
experience and memory are not or only insufficiently represented in the 
respective national sites of memory. In contrast, achievements by women 
mostly do not seem to be worth remembering or are understood as areas 
far away from politics and are left to the micro-spatial cultures of 
memory. Many historiographic concepts of research into cultures of 
memory developed by now, do not break up the prevalent patterns of 
national priority-setting and the dominance of a male culture of memory. 
On the theoretical and reflective level they rather perpetuate the 
historical development of a culture of memory which is primarily 
oriented at the nation-state as well as male scopes of action. Thus they 
(indirectly) contribute to the stabilisation of these patterns.

This is the starting point of the planned workshop and we want to 
discuss the following questions:

    * If the connotation of national cultures of memory with "male" is
      to be broken up - in which way a consistent "gendering" of culture
      of memory and sites of memory is to be done?
    * If gender is an important category for the interpretation of
      social systems of relations and a pivotal argument for the
      establishment, justification, and reinforcement of power
      structures - how and which kind of symbolic, normative, and
      social-historical references of sites and cultures of memory have
      to be analysed gender-specifically?
    * What are the trans-national results researching gender-specific
      contents of traditional sites of memory and the related (national)
      symbols, values, concepts of power and history as well as the
      images of femininity and masculinity?
    * Which kind of European memory do we construct burying cultural
      heritage of women and incorporating the results into the
      culture(s) of memory?

The workshop aims to include historical and related research from 
various European countries and we try to get funding for travel expenses 
and accommodation for participants, who will not be able to get funding 
for the travel and/or hotel by their institutions.

Abstracts for proposed papers should be sent before *15th of October 
2004* to:

	Prof. Dr. Sylvia Schraut
Seminar für Neuere Geschichte
Universität Mannheim
E 7, 16-21
D 68159 Mannheim
Email: sylvia.schraut@phil.uni-mannheim.de 
<mailto:sylvia.schraut@phil.uni-mannheim.de>