Vienna Public History Lectures
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In collaboration with:
Historisch-Kulturwissenschaftliche Fakultät der Universität Wien
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Edited by:
Marko Demantowsky
Once a year the Faculty of Historical and Cultural Studies at the University of Vienna and the chair for Public History invite the public to congregate in the university’s grand ceremonial hall to the "Vienna Public History Lectures". In terms of content, this series is directed towards ‘public history’, which might be defined as ‘the public engagement with history’. Public history has its own history and it continues to generate impactful stories. The origins of these stories tend not to be recognised for what they are; usually, they remain unconsidered. The "Vienna Public History Lectures" are aimed at an interested public; they are by no means strictly academic. Rather, we endeavour to invite speakers who, in their writings, have proven time and again how commonplace but, at the same time, how significant and how invisible these stories are in all our lives. We seek to provide a platform for those who are unafraid of crossing the borders between research and poetry, between science and literature, between freelance profession and academic office. This series aims to transcend the disciplinary boundaries of historical and cultural studies, both internally and externally. We extend an invitation to everyone who is interested to join us and share in this process of public conversation and reflection.
Topics
In the 21st century, historical buildings, works of art and collections are far from being tiresome remains of the past, like they were in the modernisation boosts of the 19th century or even still in the 1950s and 1960s. Today, they are meticulously guarded and elaborately upkept treasures: irreplaceable materialisations of collective self-images, national heritage and at the same time, valuable resources of touristic commercialisation. Hence, they have to be preserved at any cost and – when damaged in an accident – have to be restored at all costs.
This notion correlates with the 21st century’s self-description as innovative and future-oriented in a way that needs explanation. Frozen Times explores these paradoxes with a series of on-site visits in institutions that allow us to survey the past, from Vienna to Weimar and Zurich. Historical memorial sites and museums can obviously take many forms, from a temple to a supermarket, from a relic shrine to a bunker. They are shelters, time capsules and sanatoria, clinics for the treatment of phantom pain. What are they promising to protect their visitors from?
Political exigencies are making it necessary to establish new forums in which to engage with the topics of migration and remigration. When the political consequences of arrival are negotiated, the drama of escape, displacement, and exile fade into the background. Ursula Krechel’s guide examines the junctions between historical study and literature, sounding out the ruptures of a collective and highly subjective experience.
