Our memories shape us: our beliefs, our actions, our selves. A memory that we share with others can be a call to action or a way of formulating our identities. But memories are fallible, and the more people who are involved in a memory, the more room there is for debate about its meaning. The fallibility of memory is important in court cases, memoir-writing, and other situations involving testimony. This interdisciplinary conference is a space to explore the intersection between personal, psychological experiences of memory, and the communal, cultural experiences of remembrance. How do we – both as people and groups – remember and forget? What happens when memory fails? What about when two different memories contradict each other? How can we preserve memories when there is no one left to remember them? And are some things best forgotten?

Read more and submit your abstract here.

Across cultures and time, humans have demonstrated a primal need to maintain a connection with the dead. The idea that the veil separating the living and the dead becomes porous at particular times and places has held particular sway over the imagination, with Samhain in Ireland and Scotland, Mexico’s Día de los Muertos, the Hungry Ghost Festival in regions of Asia, Pitru Paksha in India, or the Awuru Odo Festival in Nigeria emerging as just a few examples of the rituals that articulate humanity’s drive to transcend the boundaries of mortality. Halloween marks an appropriate time to reflect on the meaning of the rituals humans have developed to negotiate their relationship with the world beyond. Why do we tell stories about ghosts/spirits, haunted houses, witches, and demonic possessions? What do our narratives and cultural practices reveal about the way we perceive death, the afterlife and the supernatural?

The Halloween Connections Project offers a space for participants from diverse fields and practices to engage in multi- and inter-disciplinary dialogues around these issues.

Read more and submit your abstract here.