19-21 March 2012, Akko, Israel

Call for Papers

Statement of Purpose

The Holocaust Studies Program of Western Galilee College, the University of South California Shoah Foundation Institute and The Ghetto Fighters House Museum announce a second international interdisciplinary conference and workshop on The Future of Holocaust Testimonies to be held on 19-21 March 2012.

Rationale
Holocaust survivors and their testimonies have been, for many years, key factors in Holocaust memorial culture. As survivors pass away, critical focus will inevitably move to the legacy they leave behind: especially in the forms of written, audio and video testimonies. Scholarly work on survivor testimony emerges from the full spectrum of university disciplines including history, literary analysis, linguistics, cultural criticism, psychology, neuroscience, sociology, etc. The rich and varied and corpus of testimonies requires the collaborative effort of researchers across disciplines to enable us to hear the voices of survivors articulated through their testimonies.

The first Future of Holocaust Testimonies Conference was held on January 2010. It brought together scholars from eight countries who presented new approaches to studying and working with testimonies. The upcoming Future of Holocaust testimonies no 2 conference will add another layer to this endeavor.

The Conference
In order for the conference to make an impact on Holocaust research and benefit the public discourse as well, one day will be open to the public, while two days will be for researchers only. The conference will be conducted in English. The open public day will be conducted in English and Hebrew with simultaneous translation.
Speakers will be accorded full hospitality.

We welcome proposals for papers that address the conference theme, including, but not limited to, the following topics:
• Methodological issues
• Oral testimonies, memoirs, life stories, diaries
• Video testimonies
• Early and late testimonies
• Different approaches to testimony analysis
• Place of testimonies in Holocaust research
• Historical value of testimonies
• Testimonies reflecting culture and identity issues
• Age and gender issues
• Authenticity, verification and false memories

Please send a one page proposal and a CV to:
TestimonyConf@wgalil.ac.il
(Doctoral candidates please add a letter of recommendation from your advisor)
Deadline: September 15 2011

Dr. Stephen D. Smith
Executive Director
USC Shoah Foundation Institute
Dr.Boaz Cohen
Head of Holocaust Studies Program
Western Galilee College