Phd Conference: "Representations of the Holocaust in Literature, Art and Film", Copenhagen

A PhD workshop on "Representations of the Holocaust in Literature, Art and Film" will be held at Copenhagen University on 14 November 2014. The conference is organized by the Centre for the Study of Jewish Thought in Modern Culture and TRAMS: PhD Programme in Transnational and Migration Studies.

Today, almost seventy years after the end of World War II and the liberation of the concentration camps with almost no eyewitnesses left, the Holocaust continues to be an important theme in contemporary literature, art, and film across the world.

However, in comparison with the works of the eyewitnesses, the aesthetical strategies have changed considerably with the ever-increasing distance to the event and the equally increasing importance of the aftermath. The dearth of authentic knowledge paired with the wealth of existing fictional and factual representations of the Holocaust compel artists to work with a large measure of meta-fictional reflection on their own historical position in relation to the event, on the problematics of rendering past reality as well as on the reliability of remaining traces.

The workshop thus seeks to investigate the changes that artistic strategies of representing the Holocaust have undergone in the recent decades. Taking into consideration Ricœur’s assumption that mimesis not only refers to reality but also to pre-configurations of reality (and past realities) through different symbolic systems, we will ask whether the classical artistic strategy of mimesis still plays a role in contemporary representations.

The conference program can be viewed here. Participation is free, but online registration is required before 7 November, 2014. PhD students must also register here.