Memory, Denial, Repetition & Revenge: historical revisionism as cause and effect of conflict

The IDA’s 2022 annual conference will explore historical revisionism as both a cause and effect of conflict-connected atrocities. With a particular focus on East Asia and the Balkans, a wide range of speakers – including filmmakers, historians, journalists and diplomats – will consider how false narratives are used to mitigate collective national responsibility for war crimes, sub-speciate victims and, ultimately, fuel repeated cycles of sectarian violence. Particular emphasis will be placed on the dichotomy between personal accountability and collective responsibility, methodologies for collecting and preserving factually credible histories, and the impact of the internet and cognate digital technologies on the promulgation, dissemination, and repudiation of false narratives. Finally, speakers will also ask whether certain forms of revisionism are inherent to the succession of cultures throughout time, reflecting the inevitable evolution of social perspectives and community values. All are welcome.

The Conference will feature a special screening of Shusenjo (2018) with a live moderated discussion with the film's director, Miki Dezaki. Shusenjo explores the phenomenon of denialism in contemporary Japan around the so-called "Comfort Women" issue.

Invited speakers include:

Dr Efraim Zuroff, Director, Simon Wiesenthal Center (Jerusalem)

Sir Ivor Roberts, former UK Ambassador to the former Yugoslavia

Prof Herb Golder, Boston University, filmmaker, historian

Mr Miki Dezaki, filmmaker

Ms Christina Lamb, Chief Foreign Correspondent, Times (London)

Moderator: Ms Violet Michel, Office of the District Attorney of New York, denialism researcher