Waterloo: Representation and Memory, 1815-2015 King’s Manor, University of York, 26-28 June 2015
In June 2015 the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo will be marked by a series of major commemorative events in Belgium and across Europe. At the end of this eventful month the Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies at the University of York in co-operation with the National Army Museum will host a major international and interdisciplinary conference Waterloo: Representation and Memory, 1815-2015. The conference will focus not only on what historians have written about the battle but will also engage with its broader impact on popular culture, literature, and art. Waterloo is salient in European collective memory because it signifies the culmination of a twenty-three-year conflict that some consider the ‘first total war’ (David A. Bell) and set the stage for various other novel phenomena that included, but were not limited to, the rise of modern nationalism, imperialism, and mass tourism during the nineteenth century. In examining cultures of commemoration, the conference seeks to explore a theme that has come to define Waterloo like no other battle: the problem of representation. From the start opinions diverged as to who ultimately defeated Napoleon, yet the multinational team effort behind the allied victory created mnemonic convergences that would likewise shape European identities into the First World War. Drawing together academics, broadcasters and museum curators, the conference organisers invite the submission of paper proposals that explore the ways in which entrepreneurs of memory made sense of Waterloo through different cultural media in the past and show how the relics of Europe’s warlike traditions inform heritage preservation/public history in the present.
Confirmed keynote speakers: Prof Alan Forrest (University of York): ‘Contrasting Memories: Remembering Waterloo in France and Britain’ Prof Phil Shaw (University of Leicester): ‘Missed Encounters: W.G. Sebald and the Literature of Waterloo’ Prof Jacques-Olivier Boudon (Université de Paris-Sorbonne) ‘Reflections from St Helena: Waterloo through Napoleon’s Eyes’
Papers might explore: Literary, artistic, theatrical, cinematic and televisual representations of Waterloo The political uses of the battle Waterloo and local, regional, and national identities Waterloo veterans and cultures of commemoration Waterloo and the military memoir Waterloo in global memory Waterloo tourism and souvenirs Waterloo and the First World War Waterloo and the culture of battle re-enactment Waterloo, military culture and the museum Heritage management and Waterloo
Please send paper abstracts of no more than 300 words to: waterloomemory@gmail.com Any questions can be directed to Dr Catriona Kennedy at the above e-mail address, or the Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies, King’s Manor, University of York, YO17EP, or by phone at 01904 32977.
Deadline for submission of proposals: Friday 20 March 2015 Further information will be appearing at: http://www.york.ac.uk/eighteenth-centurystudies/events/conferencebattleofwaterloo/