What looks as if it will be a fascinating conference takes place in Wroclaw, Poland next month, October 24-26. Called Cemeteries in the Social Space, it focuses on issues regarding all sorts of cemeteries (in Poland) in general. It will include a presentation about the Old Jewish Cemetery in Wroclaw, which is now administered as a museum of cemetery art.
The conference, for an academic audience, is organized by the Institute of History at the University of Wroclaw.
Participants are to include scholars and students as well as representatives of state institutions and non-governmental organizations responsible for the protection and care of cemeteries.
Among issues to be discussed are
– Funerary art – forms, classification, iconography
– Assumptions about cemeteries and parks, the green cemetery and its symbolism
– Conservation practices; renovation, safety – methodology of work, the popularization of the results, the cooperation of local authorities; government protection and landmarking cemeteries and historic monuments
– The role of local initiatives in the protection and care of cemeteries
– Legal issues related to cemeteries
– Historical memory and politics – “uncomfortable” cemeteries throughout history (such as war cemeteries, cemeteries on “Recovered Territories”, Borderlands Second Republic, etc.)
– Issues related to burial
– Cemeteries as an illustration of cultural, religious, ethnic differences
– Inscriptions, signatures.