The Meaning of 1989 and the (dis)appearance of the German Democratic Republic

This event has ended.

**Please note that the venue for this event has changed to the Owain Glyndwr, St John St, Church St, Cardiff, CF10 1GL**

An Interdisciplinary conference related to the Capitalism, Crisis and Ideology and Picturing Others research themes at the School of Modern Languages. Followed by a wine reception in the School foyer between 18:00 – 19:00. An exhibition will accompany the conference and will be on display in the School foyer between 25-29 November.

Thirty years on, the fall of the Berlin Wall still exercises the political imagination like few other events in recent history. This is not surprising given that ‘1989’ was arguably as great a caesura as the French Revolution of 1789. However, while the sequence of events leading to the fall of the Wall and the demise of Soviet communism has been well documented, the historical meaning of 1989 remains the subject of intense controversy.

There are good reasons to challenge both the triumphant understanding of 1989 as a victory of free-market economics and liberal democracy and the attendant interpretation of East German history as a mere anteroom to 1989. Such readings not only obscure the deep systemic roots of the eco-economic catastrophe unfolding in uncanny slow motion before our eyes; they also eclipse an important historical experience that foreshadowed the economic slump of 2008. As with the revival of nostalgic visions for a post-capitalist future, such reductive readings of 1989 only perpetuate the binary logic of the Cold War and thereby displace much-needed alternatives to the self-destructive rule of the silent compulsions of the economic.

This conference seeks to enhance our understanding of both the global historical significance of 1989 and the specific historical experience of the GDR. Bringing together researchers from various disciplines and backgrounds, it features original contributions which engage with the meaning of 1989 by departing from now familiar and well-trodden paths.

For further details, including the conference programme, please see: https://creative-futures.wixsite.com/1989conference

Simultaneous Translation The event will be delivered in the medium of English. You are welcome to ask questions in the medium of Welsh during the Q&A session. If you intend to do this, please contact mlang-events@cardiff.ac.uk by Friday 15 November to request simultaneous translation. Please note that 10% or more of those planning to attend will need to request this provision in order for it to be sourced and will be subject to resource availability.

Registration closes on Thursday 21 November.

We apologise that the entire registration page is not available in the medium of Welsh; unfortunately, the platform we use does not offer this service.

Organisers: Heiko Feldner and Nick Hodgin - CreativeWorkshops@cardiff.ac.uk