Global Trauma and Memory: Literature’s Role in Shaping (Post)Conflict Narratives

June 16, 2026 - June 18, 2026
Conference

Bibliothèque universitaire des Tanneurs, 5ème étage
3 rue des Tanneurs
37041 Tours
France

Presentation

The large genocides of the last century and the subsequent demands for justice have led to a “memorial turn” in the humanities and social sciences. Unlike many other types of discourse that strive to represent the occurrence and to preserve the memory of extreme violence, literature focuses on embodied and partial experiences and perceptions that do not claim to be comprehensive. The international conference 'The Age of Trauma and Memory: Literature’s Role in Shaping (Post)Conflict Narratives and Meanings' responds to the need to rethink the way literature shapes collective memory and (meta)narratives in (post)conflict contexts, in the hope of understanding its anthropological function in contemporary societies, which are largely dominated by new media. It aims to investigate both the narrative forms evoking the experience of organised violence and the way readers engage with narratives of trauma in order to explore not only the expressive side of literary writing but also its performative dimension.

Drawing on case studies from the European context (with a particular focus on the war in Ukraine), but also the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and South Asia, the conference seeks to encourage dialogue between different regimes of memory and different cultural practices.

Convenors

Liudmyla Harmash, LE STUDIUM Visiting Researcher 

FROM H.S. Skovoroda National Pedagogical University, Kharkiv - UA
IN RESIDENCE AT Cultural and Discursive Interactions (ICD) / University of Tours - FR  

Anna Krykun, Roxana Ilasca & Emmanuelle Séjourné 
Cultural and Discursive Interactions (ICD) / University of Tours - FR

General Information

Information
Congress Venue

 Bibliothèque universitaire des Tanneurs, 5ème étage, 3 rue des Tanneurs

37041 Tours, France

Dates
 Dates

Tuesday, 16 June - Thursday, 18 June 2026

Language
 Language

The official language of the Congress is English

Badge
Welcome pack and Name Badge

 Upon arrival you will receive a welcome pack that includes the printed material of the Conference and your name badge will be given to you at the reception . Please wear your name badge at all times during the Conference and to all official Conference events.

Invitation Letters
Invitation Letters

 An official letter of invitation facilitating the obtention of an entry visa can be sent upon request . In order to receive an invitation letter for visa purposes, send an email to maurine.villiers@lestudium-ias.fr. Please note that : 
- we only issue an official letter once the payment of the registration fee has been validated.
- such letters do not represent a commitment on the part of the Organisers to provide any financial assistance.

Certificat
Certificate of attendance

 After the conference, in order to receive a certficate of participation, send an email to maurine.villiers@lestudium-ias.fr

How to get there ?

Train
By train: 

* Tours centre station
 1.5 hour trip from Paris (Montparnasse)

 * Saint Pierre des Corps (4km from Tours town centre)
Bus 5, 20 minutes trip to Tours centre station

> Plan your trip by train: https://www.sncf-connect.com/en-en/

Voiture
By car:

GPS: 47.39616130890378, 0.682174374938746
Paid car parks nearby : 
Parking Indigo Anatole France, 113 Pl. Anatole France, 37000 Tours

Avion
 By plane:

*Arrival at Roissy Charles De Gaulle (CDG) airport
Take RER B in direction to Orsay-Ville, step out at Denfert Rochereau Stop
Metro 6 in direction to Charles de Gaulle-Etoile, step out at Montparnasse Bienvenue Stop 

> Then take a train to Tours (see "by train" section above)

*Arrival at Paris-Orly (ORY) airport: 

Take Metro 14 in direction to Saint-Denis Pleyel, step out at Bercy

Take Metro 6 in direction to Charles de Gaulle-Etoile, step out at Montparnasse Bienvenue

> Then take a train to Tours (see "by train" section above)  

Partners of the event

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