Congress that aims to debate processes of patrimonialization of the memory of political resistance in the 20th century on a global scale.

The Musealisation of 20th-Century Political Resistance

This congress aims to share case studies and deepen the theoretical debate on processes of patrimonialization of the memory of political resistance in the 20th century on a global scale.

The memory of the past is elaborated within the social frameworks that make the present. Over the last decades and years, memory institutions concerning the history of the 20th century have proliferated, as well as studies on processes of patrimonialization that occur in a museological context, considering aspects such as the conservation and production of memory and the archival and curatorial treatment in its technical, aesthetic, and ethical dimensions.

To be held in October in Peniche, the town where the the National Museum Resistance and Freedom is being built, on the site of a former prison of the Portuguese dictatorship of Estado Novo, this congress intends to question the multiple circumstances of what is preserved and what is represented of the political resistance, discussing the relations between this representation and the communities that give meaning to the pieces and the spaces, as well as questioning the role of the museum in its own time as a cultural, scientific, pedagogical, and civic instrument.

The congress intends to bring together papers that focus on museological institutions located in the most diverse contexts, from the Museu Nacional Resistência e Liberdade (Portugal) to the Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos (Chile), or the Robben Island Museum (South Africa). We also encourage the presentation of case studies from other European, South American, and African countries, as well as from other continents.

>> 📎 Programme (PDF) <<

We welcome the submission of papers on other cultural forms of patrimonialization of 20th-century political resistance, such as historical landmarks, toponymy, virtual museums, internet sites, routes, celebrations, and festivals, etc.

Proposals, with a title, an abstract of between 300 and 600 words, and a brief biographical presentation of the proponent, should be sent to sofia.lisboa@campus.fcsh.unl.pt.

Deadline for submissions: 30 May 7 June 2023.

>> Download the call for papers (PDF) <<