Within and Without: Representing Diasporas in Europe
Date: 13 May 2011
Time: 09:00 - 17:30
Location: Rooms 0.22 & 2.18, 65-68 Park Place
This one-day symposium will take place on Friday May 13th 2011 at the Cardiff School of European Languages, Translation and Politics, University of Cardiff.
Europe is a diasporic continent, with Belgian, British, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish populations scattered across the globe. Yet it is also home to diasporic communities based in Europe, coming from both within and outside of the continent. The aim of this symposium is to explore the way in which diasporas in Europe are depicted in literature, film and the press, exploring the ways in which a sense of cultural and geographical dislocation inform concepts of identity, otherness and (un)belonging in the host nation. The symposium will examine the intersections between cultural, religious and pan-European identities within the diasporic community, in the destination culture and in contact zones. Contributors are invited to address European diasporas within Europe (such as the Italian communities in Britain) and/or diasporas from outside the continent (such as the Turkish communities in Germany).
Topics may include (but are not restricted to):
- Explorations of ethnic identity in the literatures of the diaspora, and the host nation
- Depictions of ‘home’ in diasporic cultural production
- The shaping of cultural memory in the diaspora • Press coverage of the diasporic culture in the host nation
- Comparison of integration of European populations within European and non-European diasporas (e.g. Italians in Germany and the U.S)
- Ghettoization and blending
- Iconography of the diaspora
- The construction of space (rural and urban, private and public, blurred boundaries)
- The diasporic gaze
- Orientalism in one continent
- Theoretical approaches to diasporic writing
This conference is supported by the Histories, Memories and Fictions research network and the Austrian Cultural Forum.
Futher details
There will be a fee of £15, which includes lunch, tea and coffee and a wine reception. The event is free of charge for postgraduate students.
The conference will take place in the School, 65-68 Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AS. The sessions will take place in rooms 0.22 (ground floor), 2.18 (second floor), and registration, coffee and lunch will be in the foyer.
Google Map of the School's location
Campus maps and directions to the University
Hotels in Cardiff
Conference poster
Conference programme
Registration form
If you are interested in attending please complete and return the Conference Registration Form no later than the 4th May 2011.
