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Troubling Anniversaries Conference

On 21-22 October 2021, the IHR in partnership with the Centre for Public History, Queen’s University Belfast held an online conference exploring the uses of anniversaries in historical research and public interpretation, thinking critically about the politics of commemoration, the wide variety of tools and approaches for public engagement, and the challenges of dealing with contested pasts. 

Speakers from academia and beyond will examined a wide range of case studies, from Magna Carta to WW1, with special sessions on ‘Nuclear Memory’ (from Hiroshima to Fukushima), ‘Remembering Partitions’ in Ireland, India and beyond, and a workshop on ‘Remembering Trauma’, using oral histories of Irish Mother and Baby homes as a case study. The conference ended with an ECR lightning talk round, with 8 ECRs presenting on the theme 'Memory and Commemoration’.

Catch up on Day 1

Catch up on Day 2