The Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies
Announcements
Announcing Colloquium series and Conference on "Exhuming Bodies, Producing Knowledge: Collective Memory, Justice and Restitution in Contemporary Spain"
Exhuming Bodies, Producing Knowledge: Collective Memory, Justice and Restitution in Contemporary Spain
This Colloquium Series and International Conference will explore the role that the recent exhumations of mass graves from the Spanish Civil War and subsequent dictatorship have had in the emergence of the movement for the "recovery of historical memory" in Spain. At the beginning of the 21st century, over 30,000 bodies were still interred in mass graves throughout the country. Subsequently, the emergence of civic associations, created by ordinary citizens to undertake exhumations of these graves, has had an enormous impact on Spanish society. In part, the media impact of the exhumations has led to pressure to pass the "Law of Historical Memory" by the Spanish Congress in October 2007, a significant, if insufficient, step towards confronting the legacy of the war and dictatorship in contemporary Spanish society. We will analyze the multiple and complex relations between bodies and knowledge that arise in such exhumations and discuss their political, social, cultural and legal significance, in Spain and in other post-authoritarian or post-conflict settings.
For further information and updates to the Schedule of events, click here.
All colloquiums from 3:30 - 5:00 in room 614 Social Science Building
October 30, 2009
Colloquium Topic: Cries and Whispers: Exhuming and Narrating Defeat in Spain Today by Francisco Ferrándiz
December 11, 2009
Colloquium Topic: TBA
January 29, 2010
Colloquium Topic: TBA
February 26, 2010
Colloquium Topic: TBA
March 26, 2010
Colloquium Topic: TBA
April 23-24, 2010 Room 101, University International Center
International Conference
*Please read scheduled readings in advance of colloquium.
Conference and colloquiums are open to interested faculty, graduate students, and K-14 teachers.
This event is part of the Body and Knowing Symposium of the Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Minnesota.
Sponsored by the Institute for Advanced Study, the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies, and the European Studies Consortium at the University of Minnesota, as well as the Program for Cultural Cooperation between Spain's Ministry of Culture and US Universities.
10/14/09
Founded in the 1960s, the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, is widely recognized as a pioneer in the study of language, literature and, more broadly, cultural expressions from interdisciplinary perspectives grounded in socio-historical consciousness and political urgency. We offer B.A. degrees in Spanish and in Spanish and Portuguese; M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Hispanic Literatures and Cultures, Hispanic Linguistics, and Lusophone Literatures and Cultures. Our faculty have strengths in the colonial, postcolonial and globalization triad; gender and sexuality studies; memory and witnessing; human rights; and border cultures. In Linguistics, our strengths are in the study of language in its context(s) with a focus on interdisciplinary approaches to language contact, phonology, pragmatics, second language acquisition, sociolinguistics and syntax. At present we are undergoing an exciting moment of renovation and growth, and are looking forward to further enhancing both undergraduate and graduate learning experiences through a series of presentations, lectures, films, workshops, and opportunities for professional development and for community outreach.
The department also has strong institutional ties with important research communities across campus such as the Institute for Advanced Study, European Studies Consortium, CARLA (Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition), Center for Medieval Studies, and ICGC (Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change).