After waiting for two years, SELMA will finally be able to host the XII IABA-World conference (International Association for Biography and Autobiography ) in Turku in June. The conference “Life-Writing: Imagining the Past, Present and Future” will be held at the campus area of the University of Turku on 14–17 June 2022. The registration for the conference is open, and the early bird -registration closes on 15th of March.
Our conference theme arises from the concepts central to research in SELMA: memory, narrative and experience. During the conference, we will particularly explore the historical dimensions and meanings of life-writing. With history, we also mean the presence and politics of history as well as expectations on the future. The conference programme will consist of key notes by both scholars and artists such as Saiydia Hartman, Jens Brockmeier, Kate Douglas and Sirpa Kähkönen, as well as ca. 300 presentations that have been accepted as part of the programme. The whole programme of the conference will be available in early May.
We have understandably received lots of inquiries about the possibilities of attending the conference online. As announced earlier we are preparing for an on-site conference in Turku. However, we understand all the challenges at the moment concerning not only the pandemic, but also the war in Ukraine that are influencing travel arrangements and future plans in many places. Due to this, we have decided to organize one or possibly more slots for online sessions, and we are also planning to stream the keynote lectures for those participating remotely but, unfortunately, we are unable to offer the whole conference as an online event.
We hope to see as many of you as possible in the summer of Turku. You will find all the necessary information at our webpages, and by following us on facebook.
We wish you all strength and courage during these difficult times, and hope that peace would arrive soon in Europe.
