Archives of Shame in the English-Speaking World

Second edition of the Shame Network project on “The Cultural Politics of Shame in the English- Speaking World” International Conference hosted by CREW & PRISMES research centers at Sorbonne Nouvelle University

3-4 December 2021

Contacts:

alexandra.poulain@sorbonne-nouvelle.fr emmanuelle.avril@sorbonne-nouvelle.fr

Shame Network blog: https://shame.hypotheses.org/

Inscription / registration  : https://boutiques.sorbonne-nouvelle.fr/archives-of-shame/gb/

20 euros, gratuit pour les étudiants

Pour participer à la visioconférence, cliquez sur ce lien :  https://meet.google.com/umj-svkd-vuf


Programme

[PDF - 66 Ko]Programme [PDF - 66 Ko]

Presentation

The very notion of identifying, excavating or revisiting “Archives of Shame” is grounded in paradox: shame is an intimate, negative emotion which usually produces silence, self-erasure or effacement; it is by definition that which resists narrativizing and inscription; it lingers awkwardly on, half-hidden, unspoken, unmentionable. Typically, testimonies and avowals recording supposedly shameful acts, be they those of an individual, a group or a nation, are likewise suppressed, whether edited, censored, manipulated or destroyed. When official or state archives exist,they are frequently classified, thereby scrupulously protecting contents from the inquisitive or critical eye. In some cases, the very existence of archives is kept illegally secret —the British colonial archives regarding the Mau Mau rebellion,for example, or the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Canada, for which certain records were produced, others withheld, and some quite simply destroyed.

Emmanuelle Avril (Sorbonne Nouvelle, CREW), Hélène Le Dantec-Lowry (Sorbonne Nouvelle, CREW), David Lloyd (University of California Riverside), Alexandra Poulain (Sorbonne Nouvelle, PRISMES), Bruno Poncharal (Sorbonne Nouvelle, PRISMES), Clair Wills (University of Cambridge, Royaume-Uni).