EXILS / EXILES 2001

www.exile-2001.org

International Colloquium / Colloque International
• 31 May - 3 June 2001 / 31 mai - 3 juin 2001 •
Herstmonceux Castle (Sussex, UK) / Château de Herstmonceux (Sussex, GB)

Welcome to the official website of the "Exils / Exiles 2001 International Colloquium".

Most cultures, peoples and individuals have some experience of exile. This inherent part of the human condition has been a central theme of Judeo-Christian and Islamic cultures from their beginnings: when disobedience was punished by eviction from paradise into a world of suffering. In each of these traditions, the material and imaginative significance of exile has been repeatedly explored through politics, economics religion, philosophy, music, literature, art and film.

Born from perceived difference, the displacement or estrangement of individuals or entire peoples is a fundamental category of social existence and an archetype for creative effort. The texts, images and memories of our species abound with records and representations of exile, from the Jewish Diaspora to African slavery.

Euripides believed that there was no worse fate than exile and that, for those excluded, the dream of return remains forever the only consolation. For many exiled from their own society, or within themselves through age, illness, disability or persecution, even dreaming can seem beyond reach. And yet from Abraham and Moses to Mohammed, from Horace and Ovid to Dante, from Solzenitsyn and Tarkovsky to the Dalai Lama, the conditions and experiences of exile have been a driving force for human creativity and social change.

The colloquium will be divided into a series of seminar groups, each exploring a particular aspect of exile. Those wishing to submit a proposal should contact the convenor of the relevant seminar at the email address provided before 15 January 2001. It is envisaged that some discussion and exchange of ideas within and between seminar groups will take place by email prior to the conference and before presentation of their work at Herstmonceux. The work of the seminar groups will be disseminated via the conference website. Additional publication opportunities are being discussed by the convenors.