New Conference Explores How Trauma Shapes Generations and Collective Memory

A new academic conference will examine how trauma passes between generations and shapes collective memory. Titled Genealogies of Memory, the event will take place in Jászvásár (Iași), Romania, from 23 to 25 September 2026. Researchers and artists are invited to submit proposals by 3 May 2026, exploring themes from historical narratives to digital memory practices.

The conference will focus on four key areas: the processes behind transgenerational trauma, the influence of dominant historical accounts, artistic responses to trauma, and the role of digital tools in preserving and mediating memory.

For decades, institutions across Ostmitteleuropa have worked to document and transmit memories of war, repression, and displacement. Academic chairs, such as the one at the University of Basel, study memory cultures from the 20th century onward. Commissions like the BKGE's Kommission für kulturelle Kontexte Ostmitteleuropas, founded in 1949, have recorded refugee traditions after World War II. Public discussion series, including Bayreuth's Stadtgespräche since 2014, also address wartime memory and memorial sites. These efforts highlight how disturbing events—wars, genocides, or political violence—reshape how stories are told and retold across generations.

Trauma does not always transfer smoothly. It can act as a distorting mirror, warping narratives and challenging how past suffering is represented. The concept of *postmemory* describes how later generations reconstruct these fragmented histories, often through archives, storytelling, or collaborative remembering. The conference will break down these processes into thematic blocks: understanding trauma's generational impact, tracing its physical and cultural remnants, and analysing the roles of art and digital media in keeping memory alive. Artistic practices and digital platforms now play a growing part in this transmission. Paintings, literature, and virtual archives offer new ways to engage with traumatic legacies. Yet these tools also bring fresh questions—about authenticity, accessibility, and the risks of misrepresentation. The event will explore how technology reshapes memory work, from online archives to interactive exhibitions.

The Genealogies of Memory conference will gather scholars, artists, and practitioners to share research on trauma's generational echoes. Proposals must be submitted by 3 May 2026, with the event scheduled for late September in Iași. The discussions will build on existing work by institutions across the region, aiming to deepen understanding of how memory is preserved, contested, and transformed.