The conference ‘The Stage of War’ focuses on academic and popular representations of war and other large-scale conflicts. Nowadays, the cultural engagement with the history of violent conflicts spans a multitude of academic and above all popular genres, including (graphic) novels, films, tourism, musicals, games, exhibitions and re-enactments. Producers of popular genres try to bring the past closer to the public through interaction, performance and multi- sensory experience, often to the discontent of academic historians who fear for a distorted or trivialized past. Nonetheless, research indicates that these popular genres can significantly affect and enhance our understanding of the past.
The unique aim of this conference is to stimulate an exchange between academic and popular approaches to the representation of violent conflicts. Instead of just criticizing popular historical culture, we call on academic historians to suggest what a responsible approach to the past might entail. Simultaneously, we ask producers to clarify what the practical and ethical limitations and opportunities are of representing violent pasts in contemporary society. How can we learn from each other? To what extent can critical historical thinking be stimulated through popular productions? This two-day conference is comprised of academic lectures, presentations, roundtable discussions, and a battlefield tour in Rotterdam by military history specialists.
Keynote speakers
Alison Landsberg (George Mason University, Fairfax VA, USA)
Robin de Levita (Robin de Levita Productions, The Netherlands)
Stefan Berger (Ruhr Universität Bochum, Germany)
Target Groups
Historians, sociologists, anthropologists, psychologists
PhD and ReMa students
Military specialists
Memory / heritage specialists
Popular culture specialists
Tourism professionals
Producers of historical musicals, films, video games, exhibitions, websites
Script writers, curators, game developers, graphic novel authors
Trainers, heritage educators, history teachers
Thematic scope
Contributors are invited to submit papers on topics as:
Diversification of war experiences
Embodiment and bodily understanding
The commercialization of war heritage
Creating immediacy, direct contact with the past
Battlefield representations for education, tourism and military training
Representing and experiencing authenticity
Marginal perspectives / multiperspectivity
Commemoration and reenactments
Please send abstracts of max. 300 words and a short biographical statement of max. 50 words to thestageofwar@eshcc.eur.nl before 1 October 2019.
All abstracts will be reviewed. Notification of acceptance: 1 December 2019
Website: https://www.eur.nl/en/eshcc/stage-war-2020
Contact: thestageofwar@eshcc.eur.nl
Our organisation committee consists of Prof.dr. Maria Grever, Prof.dr. Stijn Reijnders, Prof.dr. Jeroen Jansz, Prof.dr. Kees Ribbens, dr. Susan Hogervorst, Siri Driessen, Pieter van den Heede, dr. Laurie Slegtenhorst, Lise Zurné, dr. Robbert-Jan Adriaansen and Prof.dr. Franciska de Jong.