Description
Organisation of conference, logistical organisation, poster design, keynote speaker invitation, call of panels, meetings on panel decisions, facilities distribution, and planning of social gatheringsTo Begin, Again
The temporary respite from “business as usual” imposed by, but not limited to, the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked public discussions about the opportunities that such crises or disasters afford for starting anew. Some people embrace these occasions. For others, to begin, again, is a heavy burden. Disastrous experiences often repeat themselves cyclically, like forest fires, cancers, miscarriages, and job losses. Other beginnings feel generational and never quite complete, such as the continued fight for race relations, labour rights, and gender equality across the globe.
This prompts us to ask the eminently social questions of what beginnings might look like and how they might play out, as well as the more existential one of what it means, on both a personal and societal level, to begin again. For whilst fresh starts always somehow imply a clean slate and a clear demarcation between a before and an after, they are also always repetitions or citations of previous undertakings. We never merely begin, but always begin again.
What does it mean to start afresh as an immigrant to a new country, a convert to a religion, or as a newly-released prisoner? In what ways can one begin to live again during or following intimate and traumatic disruptions of everyday life, such as loss, illness, or violence? How do people (re)imagine the new or alternative societies they might build in the wake of large-scale upheavals, both political, environmental, and economical? How do we use the past, or nostalgically long for it, when forced to begin, again? And where does this leave the future?
This conference calls for ethnographic, conceptual and genealogical explorations of people’s and societies’ efforts to begin anew. We welcome and encourage panels and papers that engage with, expand on, and/or challenge the deliberately partial and non-restrictive list of themes, perspectives, and positions introduced above.
| Period | 27 Oct 2020 → 25 Aug 2021 |
|---|---|
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Sønderborg, DenmarkShow on map |