[Commlist] CFP Replaying Communism: Cultural Memories of Soviet Occupation in European Media Symposium

We warmly invite submissions to the online symposium "Replaying 
Communism: Cultural Memories of Soviet Occupation in European Media", 
which will take place on 1 December 2023. Please check our website (link 
below) or direct enquiries to (replayingcommunism /at/ gmail.com).
Replaying Communism: Cultural Memories of Soviet Occupation in European 
Media
Online symposium: 1 December 2023
Funded by: AHRC
University of Reading, United Kingdom
Deadline: 29 August 2023
Submission portal: 
https://sites.google.com/view/replayingcommunism/symposium/submit-a-proposal
 In 1988, on 15 March, a day synonymous with national independence and 
democracy, over 10,000 Hungarians chanted Sándor Petőfi’s infamous 
poetic cry – ‘no more shall we be slaves’ – as they formed the largest 
anti-Government demonstration since the 1956 Revolution. Taking place 
exactly 140 years after Petőfi led Hungary’s rebellion against Habsburg 
rule, this demonstration highlighted the nation’s desperation for ‘Press 
Freedom’, ‘Real Reforms’, and ‘Freedom of Assembly’, as the protesters 
wrote on their banners. Thirty-five years later, students at the Budenz 
Elementary and High School in Budapest gave a musical performance about 
Petőfi’s life and poetry during the 15 March celebrations. Like the 
anti-Habsburg and then anti-Communist protests, students evoked 
similarly anti-establishment sentiments when they regaled Petőfi’s ‘Hang 
the kings!’ Recognising the political resonance of the performance, the 
school’s principal, József Csenki, immediately banned its next scheduled 
performance in fear of, it has been widely acknowledged, negative 
associations with the current Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán.

Orbán’s imposition of restrictions on a free media and, by extension, on 
the freedom of expression for Hungarian school children may have seemed 
all too familiar to those who experienced life during the 'Goulash 
Communism' years under János Kádár. The Guardian highlighted such 
parallels in a report (published on 2 April 2022) that quoted a 
Hungarian journalist, who wanted to remain anonymous, describing Orbán’s 
media control as being ‘much much worse than it was back in the 1980s 
when Hungary was a communist country’. With a politically controlled 
media regulatory authority, state intervention in the media market, and 
the widespread erosion of media pluralism and freedom of expression, it 
is hardly surprising that contemporary creative industries are engaged 
deeply in this debate.
The AHRC funded ‘Replaying Communism’ project, to which this symposium 
belongs, is investigating this phenomenon in its analyses of television 
shows that situate the viewer in Communist and Postcommunist Hungary, 
such as A Besúgó (HBO Max, 2022-) and Aranyélet (HBO Hungary, 2015-18). 
Similar political and cultural trends can be identified across former 
Soviet satellite states with television series such as Poland’s 1983 
(Netflix, 2018), Czechia's Mamon (HBO Europe, 2015), and Germany’s 
Deutschland ’83 (Sundance TV, 2015), and gaining widespread popularity 
across the former Soviet bloc and beyond. This symposium seeks to move 
beyond Hungary in its engagement in widespread discussions about 
twenty-first-century media portrayals of the Communist occupation of 
Central and Eastern Europe (1945-1990). To do so, we ask:

1.	Why is contemporary media ‘replaying communism’?
2.	How does this media represent the communist past?
3.	What can we gain from both scholarly and creative engagements with 
the synergies between the Communist era and today?

We are keen to analyse cultural memories of the Communist era in fictive 
and non-fictive accounts, and across all media. Any chosen critical, 
theoretical, methodological, or disciplinary perspective is therefore 
welcome. We hope that this symposium will provide researchers interested 
in interdisciplinary (especially political and artistic) approaches to 
media with rigorous and engaging discussions concerning creative and/or 
theoretical methodologies in response to the theme of representing 
communism.
We welcome a wide range of perspectives and encourage analyses that 
explore of former Soviet satellite states through, but not limited to, 
the following lines of inquiry: nostalgia for communism or Ostalgie; 
postcommunism and revolution; postcommunism and nationalism; 
postcommunist generations; cultural heritage; monuments and statues; 
museum studies; archiving communism; music; visual arts; performance; 
literature; film; journalism; television; video games.
The symposium is open to postgraduates, ECRs, senior academics, and 
archivists interested in how contemporary media informs our 
understanding of the experience of life under Communist rule. Please 
submit abstracts (250 words), including a title, and short bio (100 
words) by 29 August 2023. Papers must be between 15 – 20 minutes in 
length. We aim to respond to all applicants with a decision on their 
submission by 8 September 2023. Please note that as this symposium will 
take place online, there is no symposium fee.

You can submit here: 
https://sites.google.com/view/replayingcommunism/symposium/submit-a-proposal?authuser=0

If you are interested in attending this online event, but do not wish to 
present a paper, please contact us directly via email. The conference 
programme will be posted on our webpage in due course. Please address 
any questions you may have to (replayingcommunism /at/ gmail.com).

We look forward to hearing from you!
Dr Anna Váradi and Dr Lucy Jeffery.

Replaying Communism project
https://sites.google.com/view/replayingcommunism

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