Public History Conference – History, Memory, Performance

History, Memory, Performance is a three-day bilingual, interdisciplinary and international conference being held from Thursday, April 19 to Saturday, April 21, 2012 at the University of Ottawa. It has been organized by the Department of Theatre, University of Ottawa and the Centre for Public History, Carleton University.

History, Memory, Performance will bring together scholars, students and practitioners engaged in the disciplines of public history, theatre studies and related fields to explore the interplay between history, memory and performance.  It will feature 26 academic panels, offering more than a hundred presentations on a wide range of topics and themes.

The inspiration behind the conference comes from a variety of people and ideas, including historian Greg Dening’s proposition that “History – the past transformed into words or paint or dance or play – is always a performance”.  The conference is also inspired by Paul Ricoeur’s work on the conjunctions of history, memory, and the production of narrative.

Events include:

• Keynote lectures open to the public from two internationally renowned scholars: Professor Freddie Rokem (University of Tel-Aviv, Israel) and Emeritus Professor Jean-Pierre Sarrazac (Université Paris III-Sorbonne Nouvelle)
• Two special lunchtime events: University of Ottawa Professor Sylvain Schryburt in conversation with Wajdi Mouawad, Artistic Director of the National Arts Centre, French theatre, and Hannah Moscovitch and Joёl Beddow in conversation about his production of her play, East of Berlin
• Includes a roundtable on First Nations theatre
• Offers seven working groups and workshops

Further information, including a preliminary schedule and abstracts of the keynote lectures, can be found on the conference website.

Click here to follow Public History MA student, Erica Fagen as she live tweets from the conference.