Memorylab | Juliane Tomann

Contact:
j.tomann@instytut.net

Current living place:
Frankfurt (Oder) Germany

Juliane Tomann

Post-doc research associate, Imre Kertész Kolleg, Jena

Former activities:

Project manager and board member on the Institute for Applied History (Frankfurt/Oder); PhD Student on the Free University Berlin / Center for Historical Research Polish Academy of Science, Berlin

Examples of concrete activities I have organized/am organizing in the field of “dealing with the past”:
- Spring School on Cultures of Remembrance in Germany and the Balkans: Holocaust and Second World War (2012, Zagreb)
- Forum for Applied History (2011, Frankfurt/Oder)
- History Workshop Europe, Funding Program for historical projects in EE, SEE and Israel (2008-2011, Frankfurt/Oder)

Concrete challenges I am facing in my “dealing with the past”-related work:

At the moment I am facing the challenge of “changing the sides”. After having finished my PhD I started working at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena and my active involvement in dealing with the past projects at the German-Polish border came to an end. I am now trying to find my place in the academic world, but I am still very much interested in processes of reckoning the past or coming to terms with it. By now analyzing and describing these processes became more important than being actively involved in project planning and realization. I am wondering how long it is going to take until I’ll miss the “practical” side.

My personal link to/interest for the topic of “dealing with difficult pasts”:
In my next research project, I will deal with Living History phenomena and the connection between history and art. As this includes a very peculiar approach of dealing with the past I will continue working on that topic with a slightly changed perspective. The dialogue between academia and practitioners is still of high importance for me and I hope to be able to fruitfully contribute to it with my activities.