Conference: The Future of the Past

The Future of the Past: Representing the Holocaust, Genocide, and Mass Trauma in the 21^st Century

A 3-day conference co-sponsored by the Melbourne Holocaust Museum and Deakin University featuring 48 speakers from 9 different countries, including academics, curators, filmmakers, educators, and media industry practitioners.

The proliferation of depictions of the Holocaust and other traumatic events in popular culture and elsewhere demands continued attention to the means by which complex human experiences are communicated to and negotiated by contemporary audiences. From Anne Rothe’s Popular Trauma Culture to Alvin H. Rosenfeld’s The End of the Holocaust, recent scholarship has engaged with the ethics of different representational strategies—strategies that become progressively diverse with expanding technological innovations. Yet many questions remain unanswered. This conference aims to expose and explore key issues relating to the Holocaust, genocide and mass trauma, contributing to ongoing debates over historical and cultural representation.

Members of the public are welcome to attend the full conference at the standard rates, though one-day registration is also available for $60.00.