This book is a collection of essays from the conference «Re/membering Place», held at Stendhal University from 13 to 15 October 2011. It explores the issue of «Re/membering Place» in a colonial and postcolonial context of displacement, loss, and alienation. The authors consider «re/membering» as a process of reconstruction which entails the recreation of memory, be it individual or collective, the re-appropriation of the past and of collective myths, the reshaping of identity, and their representation in literature and the arts. They tackle various forms of story-telling in fiction, autobiography, the travel narrative, the memoir, historiography as well as cinema. Further, they analyse how memory and personal testimonies serve to fill in the blanks of historical discourse, to give voice to a forgotten community, revisit historiography and question the canon of Western culture. Through the exploration of richly diverse geographies and cultures throughout the world, from the Indian subcontinent to the Atlantic landscapes of Canada and the Caribbean, and the open spaces of Africa and Australia, this collection of essays introduces the reader to the crucial identity issues and problems raised in narratives today.
