Seminar Series
Memory, Trauma and Narratives of the ‘self’
This Seminar Series calls into debate the various fields of knowledge that take memory, trauma and the narrative of the ‘self’ as core concepts. From this interdisciplinary standpoint, several problems inherent to the constitution, reconfiguration and representation of personal and collective narratives will be open to discussion, particularly those arising in the context of traumatic experiences or events that threaten their unity and integrity. Gathering multiple perspectives and sensitivities, we hope to stimulate a better understanding of the horizon of therapeutic forms, whether these are understood as technically and communicatively differentiated interventions, or as types of normative observation that promote recognition, justice and reparation processes.
The various sessions will address subjects such as the plasticity, dynamics and opacity of individual and social memory, considering their conditioning by traumatic events, as well as the ways to facilitate self-knowledge and beneficial change. Such approaches give a central role to narrative and testimony, mobilizing their retroactive effects on trauma. Notwithstanding, they also imply recognizing the limitations of and providing clarifications for the normative horizon of these concepts and practices. In addition to their application in the strict scope of therapeutic work, central concepts and theories of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy lend themselves intersections with theoretical models of the History of Ideas, Philosophy and Political Science, in order to understand the limits of linear conceptions of History. The difficulties inherent to linear narrative are well expressed in the conflicts over representations of the past and in interpretations of the legacy, which are dynamic bases of the construction and the successive reconfigurations of collective identity. These are recurrent themes in the debates on how to provide protection, status and hospitality for victims of abuse and violence, these being essential measures to reinforce models of rehabilitation, integration and empowerment. Also with regard to the coexistence of ethnicities, religions and states, the patient clarification of the effects of traumatic events on self-conceptions and identity representations is crucial for the mediations, thus fostering respect and joint commitments.
The seminars will also address the evidence that memory, trauma and narrative are increasingly codified in the new modes of digital mediation in different domains, from therapy to politics, from art to entertainment. This is a significant transformation of traditional ways of externalizing, accessing and transmitting memory. Such mediums adapt and develop different symbolic forms of communicative conditioning of emotions and cognition, favouring multiple observations of traumatic memory, which participate in the reconfiguration of self-narratives.
Each session will be devoted to one of the following themes: 1) Psychological models of memory, trauma and narrative; 2) Therapy, subject and society; 3) Social memory and cultural conflict; 4) Narrative mediations and remediations; 5) Memory, trauma and identity representation; 6) Conflict, narrative and interreligious dialogue.
Format and duration of the sessions
The sessions will take place on online platforms. Each session will host two to three lectures, whose duration shall not exceed 40 minutes. After the lectures, there will be 30 minutes for a roundtable discussion.
Scientific and Planning Committee
Cláudio Carvalho (Instituto de Filosofia/U.Porto) | Joana Ricarte (CEIS20/U. Coimbra) | Edmundo Balsemão Pires (CEIS20 & DFCI-FL/U.Coimbra)
Institutional Support
Centro de Estudos Interdisciplinares (CEIS20) e Departamento de Filosofia, Comunicação e Informação (DFCI/FL/UC)
