War and Emotions Symposium

The highly-acclaimed exhibition World War I: Love & Sorrow at Melbourne Museum follows eight personal stories through the chronology of war and into the long post-war years, revealing the tragic consequences of 1914-18.
The War and Emotions symposium extends the themes and concepts of the exhibition, exploring new perspectives and understandings of the emotional and physical impacts of World War I.

Leading academics researching the history of war will consider shifts in the representation of World War I during the centenary of the conflict; discuss the effectiveness of an emotional and emotive representation of the war through exhibition; and reflect on the possibility of a new, more sensitive and nuanced narrative about the war, in which families and individuals can take centre stage.

Presentations will include recent research into how understandings of World War I are shifting since the voices of the last participants/witnesses have been stilled; the long-term impacts of war for service people and their families; and changing responses to war-related wounds and psychological disorders.

The symposium will feature international keynote speakers Dr Tracey Loughran of Cardiff University and Professor Michael Roper of the University of Essex, as well as outstanding presenters and delegates from universities and museums across Australia.

Keynote speakers:

Dr Tracey Loughran, Cardiff University

Professor Michael Roper, University of Essex

Other speakers will include:

Professor Barry Conyngham, Victorian College of the Arts

Professor Joy Damousi, University of Melbourne

Dr Marina Larsson, La Trobe University

Dr Kerry Neale, Australian War Memorial

Professor Bruce Scates, Monash University

Professor Peter Stanley, University of NSW

Professor Alistair Thomson, Monash University

Ms Deborah Tout-Smith, Museum Victoria

Professor Andrea Witcomb, Deakin University

Dr Bart Ziino, Deakin University

Venue: Museum Theatre

Cost: $165 full, $126.50 concession, student, Museum Victoria staff and volunteers,

MV teachers and Museums Australia members

Book symposium tickets online

The two-day symposium includes free entry to Melbourne Museum and the Love & Sorrow exhibition, and an evening reception for speakers and delegates.