Junges Forum 2022: L’imaginaire en temps de crise

Colloque international réunissant sciences sociales, culturelles et médiatiques Since more than a decade, we live in a repetitive loop of overlapping global challenges: the 2007 financial crisis, the so called “immigration crisis”, climate change, the corona pandemic, and most recently the Russian invasion in the Ukraine are only some of the most mediated examples. This context of multiple crises on the global scale impacts local realities in different ways. It may be seen as a permanent threat calling for immediate institutional action, but also as a chance for social change and emancipation in the shape of social movements and deliberative public debate. As the very moment of crisis is typically undefined and characterized by discontinuity, insecurities and a loss of orientation, various actors enter the stage in times of crises in order to understand, redefine and collectively overcome the perceived disorder. Stories about the past and the envisioned future pop up and evolve in that process of meaning making. We wish to argue that social imaginaries play an important role in that interpretation battle, which the sociologist Todd Nicholas Fuist refers to as “shared images and archetypes of a group of people that allows them to think collectively” (2021: 358). This approach draws attention to circulating symbols and slogans, memories and dreams within a society and to identify concepts shared across borders. This conference brings together 13 young researchers in the humanities, social sciences and cultural studies mobilizing the concept of the „social imaginary“ in concrete analyses of crisis phenomena in different world regions. Presenting in English, German and French, their work sheds light on social practices and media representations, networks and art shaping narratives of identity, dystopia, hope or justice – in Europe, Africa, and beyond. Highlights We particularly welcome our Keynote Speaker Eva Illouz on Wednesday, 12.10., at 6:30 pm with her talk “What’s Crisis: Preliminary Reflections on Love”. To attend this Keynote in person at Centre Marc Bloch in Berlin, please register here. Another highlight is the Round Table “Public Health and Climate Change: The role of imaginaries in coping with multiple crise” on Thursday, 13.10., at 5:30 pm, organized in cooperation with the research project „Multiple Crises: Covid-19 and the Entanglements of Public Health, Security and Ecology in Europe“ (CMB). We are also looking forward to our two invited guest speakers Timm Graßmann with his book presentation: “Der Eklat aller Widersprüche”, and Alexandre Navarro (UNESCO): “Réseau-monde : une transformation des coopérations culturelles Est-Ouest“. Participation The whole event is open to all at Centre Marc Bloch (Friedrichstraße 191, 10117 Berlin) and online via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84941881881?pwd=OVlEbmoxanlWaUJiSG56M0VEWTVhQT09 Meeting-ID: 849 4188 1881 Kenncode: 049458 Organisation Katrin Herms, Jérémie Thérond, Frédéric Guillaume Gass-Quintero Contact jungesforum2022@cmb.hu-berlin.de Lieu Centre Marc Bloch et en ligne