Being Bosnian: Identities after the War

Co-hosted by the Bosnia Memory Project and the Bosnian-Herzegovinian American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Friday, April 12, and Saturday, April 13, 2013

Fontbonne University

6800 Wydown Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63105

Featuring

Dr. Esad Boskailo, co-author of Wounded I am More Awake: Finding Meaning after Terror
Dr. Amila Buturovic, author of Stone Speakers: Medieval Tombs, Landscape, and Nationhood in the Poetry of Mak Dizdar
Aleksandar Hemon, author of The Book of My Lives and other books
Patrick McCarthy, author of After the Fall: Srebrenica Survivors in St. Louis

Twenty-one years—a generation—after the start of the war and genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the questions surrounding Bosnian cultural and national identities remain unresolved –especially in diaspora communities around the world, where older Bosnians bear the memories of trauma and younger Bosnians live separated from their heritage.

Please join us for two days of presentations and discussions as we collectively address the complex questions of Bosnian identities as they pertain to Bosnia-Herzegovina and to the Bosnian diaspora. This symposium represents a unique opportunity for open exchange with writers and scholars who have shaped current conversations about Bosnian identities.

This event is free and open to the public. Due to limited seating, advance notice of attendance is strongly encouraged. Reservation requests can be sent by e-mail (bmoore@fontbonne.edu) or by phone message (314-889-4553).

Books will be made available for purchase at the symposium by Left Bank Books, an independent bookstore in St. Louis.

Hotel accommodations can be made at the nearby Sheraton Clayton Plaza Hotel for a special symposium rate of $104.00 (plus tax) with free parking and internet access. Call 888-337-1395 and mention the Bosnia Memory Project at Fontbonne University. Reservations must be made by March 22, 2013 to receive the conference rate and waiver of charges for internet access and parking.

This symposium is made possible through the generous support of the Fontbonne Community Connection and the Missouri Humanities Council. Additional support is provided by the Fontbonne University Honors Program.

For more information, contact Dr. Ben Moore at 314-889-4553 or bmoore@fontbonne.edu.

Friday, April 12

4:00 p.m.: Welcome by Dr. Benjamin Moore, Director of the Bosnia Memory Project at Fontbonne University.

4:15 p.m.: Bosnia-Herzegovina at Twenty-one: Recovering Pluralism. A roundtable discussion featuring Dr. Esad Boskailo, Dr. Amila Buturovic, and Aleksandar Hemon; moderated by Patrick McCarthy.

5:00 p.m.: Open reception. Public invited. Refreshments will be served.

7:00 p.m.: Reading/presentation by Aleksandar Hemon. Discussion to follow. (This event will be the St. Louis launch of The Book of My Lives, which will be released on March 19, 2013.)

Saturday, April 13

11:00 a.m.: The Bosnian Diaspora at Twenty-One: Narratives, Memories, Identities. A roundtable discussion featuring Dr. Esad Boskailo, Dr. Amila Buturovic, and Aleksandar Hemon; moderated by Patrick McCarthy.

1:00 p.m.: Break for lunch.

3:00 p.m.: Reading/presentation by Dr. Amila Buturovic. Discussion to follow.

5:00 p.m.: Informal conversation and networking. Public invited. Light refreshments will be served.

6:00 p.m.: Reading/presentation by Dr. Esad Boskailo, author of Wounded I Am More Awake: Finding Meaning after Terror (Vanderbilt University Press, 2012).