After the Wall
Workshop 2: Evoking the GDR Alltag
The second workshop took place at Bangor University, on 6-7 July, and examined the way in which everyday life (Alltag) and everyday memories of the GDR are represented in contemporary Germany. We were pleased to welcome two keynote speakers: Dr Sean Allan (University of Warwick), who spoke about the discourse of love and the reconstruction of East German identity in post-unification cinema, and Dr Andreas Ludwig (Dokumentationszentrum Alltagskultur der DDR, Eisenhüttenstadt), who gave a presentation on history and memory in material culture. We also welcomed Ian Hawkins, who introduced his film My DDR T-shirt on the first evening.
Programme
Report of Workshop Discussion
A report of discussions from the final session of the workshop can be downloaded here; these focused primarily on the content and format of forthcoming events. Network members who were not able to be at this session are particularly encouraged to respond with comments and ideas relating to future events.
Suggested Reading
Following the format of the first workshop, a list of suggested reading was provided for workshop participants, in order to help provide common ground for discussion. The suggested texts related to the theme of memory and the everyday, and aimed to prove a variety of perspectives both from within and outside the GDR.
Keynote Papers
Both keynote speakers kindly agreed to make their papers available online:
Dr Sean Allan (University of Warwick): 'The Love Lives of Others. The Discourse of Love and the Reconstruction of East German Identity in Post-Unification Cinema.' Text / Slides
Dr Andreas Ludwig (Dokumentationszentrum Alltagsgeschichte der DDR): 'History and Memory in Material Culture: The Documentation Centre of Everyday Culture in GDR.' Slides
Links
For more details on the film My DDR T-shirt, please visit Ian Hawkins' website at: http://www.ianhawkins.co.uk/myddr/
For more information on the Dokumentationszentrum Alltagskultur der DDR in Eisenhüttenstadt, please visit the museum's webpage at: http://www.alltagskultur-ddr.de/pages/home.html