Workshop – Narratives of Pain

Background and Invited Experts

The workshop focuses on narratives of pain, disasters, diseases and displacements. The aim of the workshop is to expand our common knowledge, theories and methodologies of narratives in relation to difficult and painful areas of life and sociality.

We have invited three distinguished experts to discuss painful narratives:

• Carl Lindahl is a professor in Folkloristics at the University of Houston, Texas, with a special interest in folk narrative and survivor-centred disaster response.
  
  Lindahl is going to hold a presentation with the title: “Re-creating the Paradise Built in Hell: Survivor-to-Survivor Narration and Healing”
   
• Diane Goldstein is a professor in Folkloristics at the Indiana University. She has been doing research on narratives in relation to Aids/HIV, 9/11, as well as on horror and religion.
  
  Goldstein is going to hold a presentation with the title: “The place where things fall apart: rethinking fragmentation”
   
• Kyrre Kverndokk is a professor in Cultural History at the University of Bergen. He has recently published a monograph on natural catastrophes at different places in different times. His previous works includes memory politics and memory practices in relation to holocaust.
  
  Kverndokk’s presentation will be titled: “Greta Thunberg, the child, and the apocalypse”

In addition to these three experts, researchers and Ph.D candidates affiliated to the organizers has been invited to give presentations on their ongoing research on painful or otherwise difficult narratives.