240517 SE Memory, Art and Notions of Justice (P4) (2020W)

This seminar examines selected issues of anthropology in relation to memory and justice and the role of art in these contexts. We engage with key issues such as the body and its physical experience, the embodiment of individual and collective memory, as well as memory as a cultural, social and trans-generational field of contestation. Furthermore, we discuss art as an active participant and form of representation in these debates. We also engage with memory in relation to place, buildings and monuments and analyse how such expressions connect with notions of justice and truth and how they diffuse and actively change public space. Last but not least we look at ourselves and reflect on the role of anthropologists and questions of ethics in this complex web of interactions.

The seminar is based on everyone’s active participation. In each class students are introduced to seminal readings and core analytical approaches. The course makes use of interactive and peer group discussions, short impulse presentations as well as audio-visual and other materials in each session. The goal of this seminar is to enable students to carry out their own research within the field of memory and justice.