Queen’s University Belfast co-organises conference on addressing difficult and traumatic pasts
This week Queen’s hosted a conference in collaboration with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum that explored the challenges facing scholars, museum professionals and archivists as they seek to address difficult, contested or traumatic pasts.
The conference, ‘Conflict, Trauma and Memorialisation: Material Culture, Archives and Public Space’, which took place at Queen’s from 22- 23 June, brought together leading scholars and practitioners working on the Holocaust, the legacies of race and slavery in the US, and the Northern Ireland conflict to reflect on the representation of these histories in museum collections, archives, oral histories and public space. The conference was preceded by a 3-day closed workshop that allowed the speakers to discuss and reflect on their various perspectives on these issues.
Professor Susan Neiman, Director of the Einstein Forum, delivered the keynote guest lecture, ‘How Not to Remember the Past’, which examined the challenges for nations of dealing with their own difficult or controversial histories.
Speaking about the significance of having this conference in Belfast, Professor Olwen Purdue, conference organiser and Director of the Centre for Public History at Queen’s said: “We are delighted to have worked with the US Holocaust Memorial Museum on the first in a series of conferences that really get to the heart of some of the most pressing issues facing scholars and practitioners alike as they seek to address challenging histories in the public sphere.
“The Centre for Public History here at Queen’s is developing a considerable reputation for its work on difficult and contested pasts and is collaborating with scholars and practitioners locally and globally. It is therefore appropriate that we have hosted this event that included contributions from some of the leading scholars in their fields as well as a range of local, national and international institutions.”
Dr Robert Ehrenreich, conference co-organiser Director of Academic Programs at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum commented: “It’s a real privilege to be here for this lively and stimulating program. My colleagues and I at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum are delighted to have had this opportunity to work with the Centre for Public History at Queen’s University Belfast in co-organizing this workshop and conference.
“There isn’t a nation in the world that shouldn’t be grappling with the question of how to deal with the memory and material culture of a difficult or traumatic pasts. By working together we can confront these issues, discover new insights and perspectives on difficult histories and foster relations between American and international scholars.”