Hosted by the University of Canterbury’s’ College of Arts and the Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies in conjunction with Network for Memory Research in Aotearoa

Keynote Speakers:

• Ross Gibson (University of Canberra)
• Elizabeth Deloughrey (University of California, Los Angeles)
• Sudesh Mishra (University of the South Pacific, Fiji),
• Steven Ratuva (Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, University of Canterbury)

The conference also includes a Postgraduate Workshop DAY, 29 November, as well as performances, readings and screenings.

Memories are complex, selective and evolve over time. Some memories are hegemonic and powerful and some are subordinate and marginalized. This conference seeks to address the complex politics of cultural memory in the Pacific, attending to the range of contexts that shape memory and its articulation. On the one hand, the threat of climate change is the most recent escalation of a long process of environmental destruction and economic exploitation that includes the effects of colonisation, war, nuclear testing and global tourism. On the other hand, Pacific societies and cultures display strength, resilience and agency in facing the challenges of the new millennium and developing new visions of the future. Memory plays a vital role in these processes of survival and transformation.

Organising Committee: Chris Prentice (University of Otago), Allen Meek (Massey University), Alan Wright (University of Canterbury), Steven Ratuva (University of Canterbury), Paul Millar (University of Canterbury).