Memory Under Pressure: Forum History in Public Space will focus on the changing relationship to the past
The war against Ukraine, artificial intelligence, new museum exhibitions, controversial monuments, almost invisible traces of the past and the memory of minorities. These are just some of the areas that will be the focus of the fourth edition of the History in Public Space Forum, entitled Memory under Pressure: Tensions, Conflicts, Catharsis. The two-day event, co-organised by the Institute of Contemporary History of the Czech Academy of Sciences, starts tomorrow in Ústí nad Labem.
There is no memory without conflicts, different perspectives and constant changes. Currently, it is affected by a variety of influences: we are experiencing armed conflicts and cultural wars, and in the context of environmental changes we are also becoming more sensitive to the traces of the past in the landscape. The fourth edition of the History in Public Space Forum will take place from 17 to 18 October and will bring two days of discussions on how the relationship to the past is changing in the Czech and European context.
„The Forum History in Public Space is the largest regularly held meeting in the Czech Republic bringing together all those who are professionally interested in how we currently relate to history. The conference brings together academics with museum workers, teachers, university students, representatives of non-profit organisations and artists,“ says Václav Sixta, head of the programme committee from the Faculty of Arts at Charles University.
Traces of the past in the landscape
The conference will be opened by Andrew Hoskins, a world-renowned expert on historical memory and its transformation under the influence of technological development from the University of Glasgow. His talk will focus on how digital technologies will affect our memories of the war in Ukraine. In the other panels, those interested can look forward to discussions on the transformations of memory, disputes about the past, and how memory of socialism is mediated by digital media or museum exhibitions.
However, the focus will also be on specific cases that show how traces of the past can be worked with in the landscape, and on less common manifestations of memory, such as abandoned sports grounds, German factory villas, or compulsory military service, or the challenges of uncovering and exploring them.
The first day will also include a discussion evening on Video Games and History, which will start at 6 pm at the Ústí nad Labem Museum.
„The programme is really varied. The selected papers offer a wide range of topics related to history in terms of time, space and methodology. I believe that everyone who is interested in history and is interested in developing contemporary debates and critical reflection in relation to memory will find something to their liking,“ adds Renata Berkyová from the Institute of Contemporary History of the Czech Academy of Sciences.
The conference, which is organised by the Faculty of Arts of the J. E. Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, the Faculty of Arts of Charles University, the Institute of History of the Czech Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Contemporary History of the Czech Academy of Sciences, the National Museum, Antikomplex, z.s., and the Municipal Museum of Ústí nad Labem, is open to all those who are professionally involved in the past, both in and out of academia. More information, including the programme and registration, is available on the History in Public Space Forum website: https://forumdvp.ff.cuni.cz/. The media partner of the conference is the journal Dějiny a současnost.
The conference is held with the support of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic within the framework of the Strategy AV 21 research programme „City as a Laboratory of Change: Historical Heritage and Place for Safe and Quality Life“.