Dear participants of the Slow Memory COST Action,
We are delighted to send you this first instalment of the Slow Memory Bulletin. This Newsletter is intended to inform you about recent and upcoming events, developments and projects within and beyond the Slow Memory Cost Action. It is also meant to provide a platform for members to share their news, so do contact the Communication Team, Frédéric Clavert and Hanna Teichler (WG 7)!
2022: Looking back on the first Grant Year and the first Annual Meeting in Portland
On June 6, 2022, about sixty members of the COST Action on Slow Memory, which now has 39 member countries, met for the first time in person on the Isle of Portland (UK) to discuss their research interests, to get to know each other as individuals, and to begin to figure out what this concept might mean for memory studies and remembrance practices. We enjoyed four full days of networking, debating, workshops, yoga and herbal walks, to name just a few of the activities. Read the general report as well as the Working Group reports here.
2023: Come to Aarhus for our second Annual Meeting: June 12th– 16th
The second full meeting of the COST Action “Slow Memory – Transformative Practices for Times of Uneven and Accelerated Change” will take place in Aarhus, Denmark from June 12th-16th, 2023. The meeting will happen in two parts: a two-day training school (to which everyone is invited but that is intended especially for early career scholars) and a three-day conference within and across our working groups. The focus of both will be on methodologies: considering the barriers, blocks, flows and flux in working with and through slow memory practices. The conference will provide space for reflections, workshops, excursions and panel presentations – all at our customary slow pace. Save the date; we will provide more information on the event here soon.
Short Term Scientific Missions (STSM)
One of the core features of this COST Action is to facilitate exchange between scholars and between scholars and practitioners. For this purpose, the Action sponsors Short Term Scientific Missions. STSM are aimed at sustaining the production of specific tangible outputs, such as STSM reports, collaborative projects, joint publications, presentation at conferences of this COST Action, cooperation with potential stakeholders, and developing contacts for new collaborations. STSM are aimed also at promoting less tangible outputs, e.g., knowledge exchange, transfer of skill and techniques, increased visibility and awareness of COST Action, and networking. See our current call for applications here.
***The deadline has been extended to March 24, 2023.***
Check out our webpage to read how the 2022 STMS went for Emina Zoletic, Sergios Strigklogiannis, and Vjeran Pavlakovic.
Help for Turkey and Syria
We are devastated to learn about the devastating effects of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Our colleague Deniz Gundogan Ibrisim has compiled a list of NGOs and networks which collect and manage donations. Please join their efforts:
* AHBAP is a reliable Turkish organization that describes itself as a “cooperation movement that works with value systems based on solidarity, sharing, and belonging.” The network provides “all kinds of aid” to those in need, including cash transfers and in-kind support. Through their support, they seek “to create contemporary and sustainable networks of cooperation and solidarity” that use new models that ensure they “protect local cultures.” Donations can be sent through their website as well. The organization has also created and will update a list of community centers and businesses that have opened their doors to those seeking refuge.
*AFAD is Türkiye’s official disaster and emergency management authority.
*This website has some useful information as well: https://www.afetbilgi.com/
Fundraising for Earthquake Disaster Relief:
TURKEY EARTHQUAKE FUND
This fundraiser is organized by Research Institute On Turkey Inc (Research Institute On Turkey).
*Research Institute on Turkey calls for the international community to provide immediate support for recovery efforts by raising funds that will be transparently transferred to Ahbap Derneği as well as other active and respected non-governmental organizations in Turkey, which are working in the affected region, mobilize local and international support. Donation updates will be frequently shared on the campaign page.
SlowMemo_Talks
So far, there have been two events in this new lecture series. On December 9, 2022, a film screening of “La Memoria es un arma cargada de future: cultural creators and memories of the industrial past in Asturias” and a conversation with Irene Diaz and Ruben Vega (University of Oviedo) took place online. On Friday, February 10, 2023, Stefan Berger spoke about the opportunities and challenges of “A Comparative History of Deindustrialization”. These two lectures were held within the framework of Working Group 1 (Transformation of Work) but the lecture series is open to all members of the Action and beyond. Watch this space for announcements of future events.
There will be a series of SlowMemo_Talks within the framework of a 4EU+ partner course “The Twentieth Century in European Memory”, organized by researchers from Universities of Prague, Warzaw, Sorbonne, Milan, Heidelberg, and Copenhagen, and in coorperation with the Slow Memory COST Action (Working Group 2 under the leadership of Steven Brown and Kateřina Králová). The series kicked off on March 1 with a general introduction to why we need memory studies, and will continue with a Roundtable: Joanna Wawrzyniak and Tea Sindbaek Andersen will discuss the question of “What do we mean by Slow Memory?” with host Kateřina Králová on March 8. Find out more about this course and upcoming events here.
Interested in organizing a SlowMemo_Talk? Contact us!
Joint Zotero Bibliography
We have just set up the structures for the Slow Memory Joint Bibliography. The idea is to collect relevant literature via Zotero and publish this ‘library’ on our webpage. To this end, the Working Groups have named Zotero Officers who will spearhead the collection of literature in their respective groups. A shoutout to Véronique Labonte (WG 4), Ewa Tartakoswky (WG 3), Paweł Downarowicz (WG 1), Vladimir Spina (WG 2) and Hanna Teichler (WG 5 and 7) for taking up the task!
With our best wishes,
Jenny Wüstenberg & Joanna Wawrzyniak (Action Co-chairs)
Frédéric Clavert & Hanna Teichler (Communication & Dissemination)
