רשת מדעי הרוח והחברה

Call for Papers – Workshop
Exploring Narrative Gaps in Literature: Identity, Memory, and the Absent”

IRTG Baltic Peripeties, University of Greifswald, 10 and 11 July, 2025

What is missing from a narrative can be just as revealing as what is included. This specially applies to literature, where a story is shaped not only by what is present, but also by what is deliberately omitted or left unspoken. An author might choose to omit details, whether to conceal parts of a story or to emphasize others through what is left unsaid, shaping the storytelling in the process. It is also possible that the narrator’s memory is incomplete because of medical conditions, (intergenerational) trauma, or suppression. Both the inability to remember and remembering “too much“ might  be felt as hurtful.

The concept of mimesis of remembering (Michael Basseler, Dorothee Birke) is highly relevant for identifying memory-related gaps. Building on Gérard Genette’s work on temporal structures as well as the theorization of unreliable narratives, they conclude that the process of remembering is always aesthetically constructed. Examples of this can be found in literary texts like Anne Rabe’s Die Möglichkeit von Glück (2023) and Bianca Schaalburg’s graphic novel Der Duft der Kiefern (2021). They explore remembrance as both a theme and as an aesthetic form. Rabe’s protagonist experiences memory gaps and questions her grandfather’s past, reflecting on fragmented recollections. Schaalburg delves into her family’s Second World War history, piecing together memories and facts. Both works artistically contribute to a culture of remembrance by depicting history as reconstructed through fragile and selective memories.

למידע נוסף לחצו כאן:
https://peripeties.uni-greifswald.de/cfp-exploring-narrative-gaps/