Narratives of Memory, Migration, and Xenophobia in the European Union and Canada
Date
2019-11-07
Authors
Barna, Ildikó
Biró, Dániel Péter
Brunet-Jailly, Emmanuel
Calof, Ethan
Casiez, Lena
Chouraqui, Alain
Dumont, Lorraine
Farris-Manning, Kimberley
Gonçalves, Tamara Amoroso
Hallgrímsdóttir, Helga K.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
“Narratives of Memory, Migration, and Xenophobia in the European Union and Canada” explores the role of memory and narratives of the past political tools and opportunities for cultural reconciliation. This is an edited volume that compiles the proceedings of an interdisciplinary conference and graduate field school that took place in the summer of 2017. The conference and field school brought together emerging and established scholars, students, musicians, composers from three different European nations (France, Hungary, and Germany) studying the European migrant crisis and Canadian students engaged in understanding Canadian history and experience with genocide, colonialism, and systemic violence and oppression of indigenous peoples. Deploying a comparative focus by drawing on the recent Canadian experiences around the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as well as Canadian understandings of multiculturalism, integration, and identity, this volume aims to offer a unique lens with which to view narratives of memory and their relationship to present-day decision-making processes. Edited by Helga K. Hallgrímsdóttir and Helga Thorson.
Description
The chapters presented explore how varied agents of memory -- including the music we listen to, the (his)stories that we tell, and the political and social actions that we engage in -- create narratives of the past that critically contest and challenge xenophobic and nationalistic renderings of political possibilities for Europe and Canada. The goal of the volume as a whole is to foster innovative interdisciplinary and intercultural discussions on memory discourses as political, social, and creative collective ventures. In addition, the volume aims to contribute to the development of curriculum geared towards exploring the politics of memory in shaping present-day tensions and conflicts. Specific themes explored in the volume include:
1) How memory politics and narratives of the past frame and influence current political decisions and decision-making processes
2) How memory discourses and narratives of the past can be deployed as agents of change and resistance to destabilizing and fracturing discourses
3) How cultural narratives of the past and memorialization are interwoven with current public policy challenges relating to multiculturalism and diversity
4) The role of integrative national and transnational identities in the face of rising nationalism and xenophobic discourses
Keywords
multiculturalism, xenophobia, European Union, Canada - politics, memorialization, genocide, holocaust