WALTER BENJAMIN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2023

IX WALTER BENJAMIN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2023

«The times of memory and the times of history. Governance of traumatic pasts»

16, 17, 18 November 2023

Organizers: Memorial Democràtic, MUME, Walter Benjamin Chair (UdG). With the collaboration of EUROM (+ Solidarity Foundation of the University of Barcelona), CCCB, Nau Côclea. With the support of Ajuntament de Portbou, Diputació de Girona, Ajuntament de Girona and Consell social of the University of Girona.

Barcelona, Girona and Portbou

From November 16 to 18, the ninth edition of the Walter Benjamin International Colloquium will take place in Girona, Barcelona and Portbou, under the title «The times of memory and the times of history. Governance of traumatic pasts».

This conference, from a discussion of some key concepts and examples from different geographical and historical realities will broach these controversial realities that relate the close ties between history, memory, the will to legislate and ultimately public policies on memory as governance tools of those “pasts that don’t completely pass”.

Participants: Josep Maria Fradera (UPF), Sébastien Ledoux (Université Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne), Marisa González de Oleaga (UNED), Chiao-In Chen (CEDID-UAB), José María Faraldo (Universidad Complutense Madrid), Emmanuel Droit (Université de Strasbourg), Paloma Aguilar Fernández (UNED) and Alfons Aragoneses (Direcció General de Memòria Democràtica i UPF).  

History, memory and legislative will

In approximately the course of the last three decades, in many of the countries that have experienced war conflicts or dictatorial political regimes - which have been characterized by the systematic violation of human rights - legal articles have been approved. To legislate means, to a large extent, to regulate, order and prioritize access to the past. It involves including legal, moral and political criteria in the interpretation of the near past times. We often talk about "memory duty".

The past is important in shaping the present of societies and, therefore, it is by no means a material deposited in an ivory tower at the disposal of scholars. On the contrary, it is a legacy - very often conflicting - that is traumatically linked to the present. How to live with it is one of the great challenges and that is why not a few societies design and deploy governance measures in relation to these inherited inheritances. How to "dominate" this past is the great challenge. The historian Antoine Prost and the philosopher Paul Ricoeur suggested a few years ago a twist on the famous statement "duty to remember" and advocated a "duty to history" in order to facilitate the "right to memory".

Walking route and other activities

As part of the Colloquium, on Saturday, November 18, participants can take a walking route from Banyuls to Portbou, in tribute to Walter Benjamin. It will start at 8 in the morning, and will last between six and seven hours. In the afternoon, the play The Undertaker, by Gerard Vázquez and Pepe Zapata, will be performed by the company Teatro de dos, Sala la Congesta in Portbou.

Conference Program 

Registration form 

Espces:

Girona

- Sala de Graus, Facultat de Lletres, Universitat de Girona

Barcelona

- CCCB, Barcelona, Aula 2

Portbou

- Ruta: Oficina de Turisme de Portbou. Passeig Lluís Companys s/n

• Espectacle teatral: Sala La Congesta (C/ Méndez Núñez 20)

More information at Website of Memorial Democràtic.