Post-Conflict, Cultural Heritage and Regional Development: An International Conference

Post-Conflict, Cultural Heritage and Regional Development: An International Conference

Date: 9-11 October 2013, Wageningen, The Netherlands

The Liberation Day Committee 1945 Wageningen (as member of the European Network of Places of Peace), Wageningen University and Inholland University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands, are organizing an international conference, on the overarching theme of post-conflict, cultural heritage and regional development. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the event initially scheduled for 2012 has had to be postponed for which any inconvenience is regretted. However, we are pleased to announce the new date for the event, and invite individuals to (re)submit abstracts for paper presentations and panel proposals.   

Conflicts sometimes lead to violent encounters that result in casualties and damage to infrastructure, housing and the environment. Often, traumatic experiences brought about by these become the subject of commemorations that contribute to places linked to them gaining material, social and/or symbolic significance, within the locality, country or even regionally. This is particularly true when residents and policymakers actively implement initiatives to embrace them as part of collective memory, pedagogy and/or as local heritage attractions for domestic and international visitors. Every year thousands, sometimes millions, of people visit places like Auschwitz, Ground Zero, Hiroshima, Choeung Ek and Gettysburg. Wageningen, marked as the City of Liberation, and the setting for this international conference, also attracts more than 100,000 visitors annually as part of national commemoration and liberation festivals in the Netherlands. These are testament to the popularity of these sites although they too can at times be plagued with criticisms and controversy, pertaining to issues like commercialization, sustainability, multiple interpretations of history and so on.

This conference seeks to further our understanding of the perceptions, processes and problems that are related to some of these places of former conflicts that have, over time, been transformed into key sites for memory, education and consumption, or even commodification. The multidisciplinary conference considers the social, political, economic and developmental dimensions as well as potential of such places alongside highlighting issues associated with the establishment of such heritage sites. It also explores how these sites may be developed as ‘peace institutions’ that aim to encourage the prevention of future conflicts. We welcome case studies drawn from the Netherlands as well as from other international contexts. Selected authors may be invited to contribute chapters/articles for a book or special journal issue.

Relevant topics may include (but not be limited to):

- Landscape, post-conflict identity and ‘difficult’ heritage;

- Post-conflict cities/heritage of conflict in postcolonial cities; 
- Historical geographies and genealogies of places of war and peace;
- Social, economic and political impacts of places of war and peace; 
- Interpreting conflict sights and the handling of multiple narratives;
- Educational potential of trauma sites, and related problems; 
- Commodification of conflicts into heritage tourism;
- Conflict and the politics of truth and reconciliation;
- City branding issues in cities where conflict is within living memory;
- Sites of dark tourism: potentials, perspectives, and problems;
- Sites of former conflict as ‘shared’ spaces/peace institutions; etc.

Proposals for papers on or related to any issues related to the abovementioned topics are welcome. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have queries.

 Confirmed keynote speakers

·         Professor Karen Till (Geography, NUI Maynooth).
·         Professor Gregory Ashworth (University of Groningen).
·         Dr. Philip Stone (University of Central Lancashire).

 Guidelines

Abstracts of papers, in the range of 300 to 400 words, should be sent to info@peaceconference.org. The abstract should clearly indicate the paper’s main arguments, its connection to the theme(s) of the conference, as well as briefly on the adopted methodology.

A short biography of the speaker should also be included, containing relevant information about the author's academic background.

Deadlines for Submissions:

Deadline for abstracts: 8 June 2013
Deadline for acceptance: 3 August 2013

More Information 

www.peaceconference.org