This one-day international conference will bring together researchers studying the experiences of prisoners of war and displaced people in times of conflict, with a particular focus on how these experiences have been narrated in various forms, both by the historical actors who underwent forced dislocation (captors and captives) and by researchers themselves. 

One-day interdisciplinary conference in conjunction with War and Representation Network (WAR-Net), University of Warwick, Saturday 9 November 2013

"To be a prisoner is to be variously written", Paul Gready

Argument

This one-day international conference will bring together researchers studying the experiences of prisoners of war and displaced people in times of conflict, with a particular focus on how these experiences have been narrated in various forms, both by the historical actors who underwent forced dislocation (captors and captives) and by researchers themselves. In association with the academic network WAR-Net (the War and Representation Network) this conference at the University of Warwick will contribute to the vibrant new field of Prisoner of War Studies. Researchers from the fields of history, literature, theatre, politics, international law, film, archaeology and museum studies will discuss how captivity experiences are ‘represented’, in the broadest sense. This conference hopes to further the development of the international Prisoner of War Network recently created by researchers at the University of Warwick, by encouraging future collaboration on the subject across disciplines and institutions.

Topics of discussion include (but are not limited to):

• The genre(s) of captivity: What methods have prisoners of war used to represent their experiences and why? How do different genres (film, life-writing, oral history) interact with one another? Is there a distinct prisoner of war narrative?
• Discipline and materiality in forced displacement: Under what conditions and using what materials do prisoners of war ‘write’ their experiences during captivity?
• Time and Space: What is the significance of time, dislocation and distance to the prisoner of war narrative? How is prisoner of war experience written after the end of captivity? Does the meaning of the prisoner of war narrative change over time?
• Gender and Class: What is the significance of gender to prisoner of war experience? Are class distinctions important to the prisoner of war narrative?
• Trauma and Silence: What is omitted from the prisoner of war narrative and why? What role does ‘trauma’ in prisoner of war narratives?
• Theorising academic research of captivity: How do researchers ‘represent’ or write prisoner of war experience? What challenges are there in such research? What theoretical frameworks can inform our study of captivity and dislocation?

Papers can also address any other aspect relevant to writing prisoner of war experience.  We encourage applications studying prisoner of war experience from any conflict.

Submission guidelines

Please submit all proposals (max. 300 words) to prisonerofwarexperience@gmail.com

by 31 July 2013.

Accepted speakers and delegates will be charged a small conference fee. Attendees must arrange their own travel to and from the university.

We encourage applications from academic researchers, postgraduate students and institutions.

Proposals and papers should be in english.

Organised by Elodie Duché and Grace Huxford (Warwick), in conjunction with WAR-Net founders Gill Plain (St. Andrews) and Kate McLoughlin (Birbeck).

For further information please email prisonerofwarexperience@gmail.com

Conference scientific committee

• Professor Gill Plain (University of Saint-Andrews, WAR-Net)
• Dr. Kate McLoughlin (Birkbeck University of London, WAR-Net)
• Elodie Duché (University of Warwick, POW Network)
• Grace Huxford (University of Warwick, POW Network)