In 2007, the European Union celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Treaties of
Rome. The inaptness of the logo marking the occasion, 'Together since 1957'
highlights what can be seen as one of the key obstacles to the emergence of a
European identity: the lack of a common hi/story.

Whereas collective memories of war and destruction provided post-war western Europe with an important impetus to push forward the European project, collective memories in the EU of 27 are arguably characterised more by diversity and fragmentation.

We will hold a conference on this theme in mid-September 2007 (in Nottingham or Durham), and would like to invite conference contributions which examine the dynamics and landscapes of memory in the new Europe.

Please send a 250-word abstract and short CV (with relevant publications)
either to Ruth Wittlinger (Durham University; ruth.wittlinger@durham.ac.uk),
Dorothee Hermanni (University of Karlsruhe; doro.hm@web.de) or Bill Niven
(Nottingham Trent University; william.niven@ntu.ac.uk).

Contributions might focus on issues such as:
- the role of collective memory in bilateral, trilateral and multilateral relationships in the new Europe (east and west)
- the development of national memory strands and their impact on attitudes towards European integration and European policy
- the formation and influence of transnational collective memories, e.g. Holocaust memory and memory of eastern and central Europe’s communist past
- the interrelationship between and interaction of contrasting or conflicting memory strands within the nations of the new Europe, or within Europe as a whole (e.g. memories of victimhood, perpetration and collaboration)
- the impact of migration within the boundaries of the new Europe, and from outside Europe to inside Europe on the formation and evolution of collective memory
- the question of a possible “Europeanisation” of memory, and the relationship of any such memory to concepts of “global memory”