Visualizing the Changes of 1989, Berlin

26th-28th November 2010, Berlin

Deadline: 30/06/2010

Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Cultural Orientations and Social Structures in Southeastern Europe Graduate College), the University of Erfurt, and the Collegium Hungaricum Berlin organises a workshop: “Visualizing the Changes”.

Over twenty years have passed since the political “changes” of 1989, which brought communist rule in Eastern Europe to an end. This raises the fundamental question of the connection between memory, the interpretation of historical events, and their visual representation; of how individuals and societies visually (re)construct history with an eye towards both the present and the past. The organisers would like to more closely examine these particular problems at a workshop focusing on the visualization of the political “changes” of 1989 in Eastern Europe. They are particularly interested in conventional forms of representation such as photographs and paintings, but also in moving images such as film and video.

Objectives of the workshop
* The workshop seeks to investigate the meaning of visual representations in their dual character as both (historical) points of reference and as art objects, and to do so in a research-informed manner and in a framework beyond German borders.
* To facilitate networking and the exchange of ideas between junior researchers currently undertaking or planning to undertake research projects in the broader context of workshop’s theme.
* Workshop participants will have the opportunity to present and discuss current research projects in this area.

The following topics are of particular interest:
Specifics of Visualization: How was the sudden transformation from communism to capitalism in 1989 in individual countries visually thematised? Which images and methods of representation characterize the encounter with these events? What differences and similarities exist both within and between the various countries? Can one identify a specific post-communist aesthetic in Eastern Europe and is there a supranational canon? If there is, which images does it include?

Eligibility
* The call for proposals is aimed at early career researchers in the fields of History, Art History, Communication and Media Studies, Eastern European Studies and related disciplines.
* The workshop is limited to 15 people.

Venue and cost
* The workshop will take place in November 2010 in “Haus Ungarn” of the Collegium Hungaricum, Berlin.
* Workshop participants’ 15-20min presentations will be followed by discussion moderated by recognised experts.
* Travel and accommodation costs will be met by the workshop organisers.

Application procedure
All interested participants should submit their application, including a preliminary abstract (in German or English, 500 words maximum), a selected bibliography and brief overview of their academic background to Ana Karaminova: anaik33@hotmail.com and Martin Jung: euromar@gmx.net

The application deadline is 30th June 2010.

Those wishing to attend the workshop (but not present papers) are very welcome, but are asked to register their interest by 1 November 2010.

With any further queries contact: anaik33@hotmail.com

More information about Cultural Orientations and Social Structures in Southeastern Europe Graduate College, Friedrich Schiller University Jena

One thought on “Visualizing the Changes of 1989, Berlin

  1. Hey Sabrina! Thanks for the comment. Yeah, this hanpeps to me a lot too, which is why I like to build my low level plan/calendar with either post-its or calendar blockers which I can drag and drop. Sometimes I just don’t feel creative, and if that’s the case, I move any time I blocked for creativity to another day or time slot, and do something else instead (usually production work, social media stuff, etc.) If on the other hand, I attempt something, and am just not feeling it. I might try for 30 mins or an hour or so, but realize that it is just not happening and do something else before I waste more time. It’s an art, not a science, I certainly don’t always get it right and I’m sure others don’t either. Needless to say you can’t schedule creativity. On those days when you shoot out of bed with a million ideas, I would work on them, and move any production/business tasks to another time. The key is to have flexible moveable’ blocks of scheduled time to fit your natural working rhythms.Hope that helps, and I’ll make sure to address it in the book.P.S. you and I will have to meet up sometime when I’m in Berlin again, I’m the daughter of a letterpress printer

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