Does War Belong in the Museum? The representation of violence in exhibitions
21st – 23rd September 2011, Graz (A)
Museumsakademie Joanneum
Conference in cooperation with ICOMAM – – International Council of Museums and Collections of Arms and Military history and the Styrian Armoury, Graz
Registration required!

Representations of war and violence in museums mainly oscillate between the fascination of terror and its instruments, on the one hand, and the educational initiative to explain violence and by explaining it to make it possible to come to terms with it and to avoid it, on the other. These museums must also confront fundamental questions of how society and institutions deal with war and violence. Does war really belong in the museum? And if it does, with which means and to what ends? Can the museum avoid trivializing and aesthetising war, of transforming violence, death and trauma into attractions? What images of consternation and identification are created – and which would be desirable? Is it possible to offer an experience of the dialectic of friend and foe? On the occasion of the 200-year anniversary of the Joanneum Universal Museum, we will discuss possibilities for the Armoury of the State of Styria, both a historical monument and tourist attraction, to develop new, analytical and discursive ways of dealing with war in the museum.

Conference language is English.

Conference Program:
www.museum-joanneum.at/en/museumsakademie/events-12/does-war-belong-in-the-museum-the-representation-of-violence

with:
Peter Armstrong, Creative Development Director, Royal Armouries, Leeds (GB)
Dr. Christine Breil, MA,freischaffende Kulturwissenschafterin, Stuttgart (D)
Alexandra Bounia, University of the Aegean, Mytilene (GR)
Thomas Cauvin, Doctoral Researcher, European University Institute, Florence (I)
Dr. Robert M. Ehrenreich, Director of University Programs, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington (USA)
Christine van Everbroeck, Royal Army Museum, Brussels (BE)
Dr. Werner Fenz, Director, Institut für Kunst im Öffentlichen Raum Steiermark, Graz (A)
Dr. Nina Gorgus, freischaffende Kuratorin, Frankfurt/Main (D)
Barton C. Hacker, Curator of Armed Forces History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington (USA)
Susanne Hagemann, MA (D)
Dr. Kristiane Janeke, Tradicia History Service, Minsk (BLR)
MMag. Patrizia Kern, Graduate Programme for Transcultural Studies, Karl Jaspers Centre Heidelberg (D)
Univ. Prof. Dr. hc Dr. Helmut Konrad, Universität Graz, Institut für Geschichte, Graz (A)
Dr. Wolfgang Muchitsch, Director Universalmuseum Joanneum, Head of the Styrian Armoury, Graz (A)
Dr. des Carol Nater, Director, Museum Altes Zeughaus, Solothurn (CH)
Dr. M. Christian Ortner, Director, Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Wien (A)
Dr. Gorch Pieken, Director of Exhibitions, Collections and Research, Bundeswehr Museum of Military History, Dresden (D)
Ralf Raths, MA, Deutsches Panzermuseum Munster (D)
Per B. Rekdal, Senior Advisor, Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo (NOR)
Prof. Dr. Jay Winter, Yale University, Department of History (USA)
Vladimir Ivanovich Zabarovskiy, Director of the Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Moscow (RUS)

Costs
Conference: 140 €, reduced price 100 €

Post Conference Ljubljana/Varazdin: 250 €
Including Hotel, Coach and Entrance Fees.
Minimum 10 Particpants.
Registration required until July 31st.
Program Post Conference
www.museum-joanneum.at/en/museumsakademie/events-12/does-war-belong-in-the-museum-the-representation-of-violence

Registration and Information:
Museumsakademie Joanneum
Schloss Eggenberg,
Eggenberger Allee 90, 8020 Graz
T +43 (0) 316/8017-9805, Fax -9808
museumsakademie@museum-joanneum.at