List All News ArticlesSeminar on “The Power and Modes of Remembering” was held at EMU with Dr. Ibrahim Beyazoglu
Published Date: Wednesday, 4 December 2024
A seminar titled “The Power and Modes of Remembering” was held on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, at Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU), jointly organized by the Cyprus Policy Center (CPC) and the Department of Political Science and International Relations. The opening remarks were delivered by Prof. Dr. Ahmet Sözen, Chair of the Department of Political Science and International Relations and Director of the CPC, who also introduced the seminar’s speaker, Dr. İbrahim Beyazoğlu.
Dr. Beyazoğlu began his presentation by elaborating on the distinction between communicative memory and cultural memory. He explained that while cultural memory is institutionalized and long-term, communicative memory is short-term and based on personal interactions between living generations. He also discussed two types of nostalgia: reflective nostalgia, which critically engages with the past and is rooted in longing, and restorative nostalgia, which aims to reconstruct and relive the past.
Using the Cyprus conflict as an example, Beyazoğlu explained that Greek Cypriots experience “nostomania,” a profound longing for their homeland, whereas Turkish Cypriots suffer from “nostophobia,” a fear of returning home. He further elaborated on concepts such as epistemic violence, othering, and orientalism, emphasizing how these notions exacerbate divisions between different societies.
During the highly interactive seminar, in response to questions from the audience and under the moderation of Prof. Dr. Ahmet Sözen, Dr. Beyazoğlu noted that efforts by communities to cleanse themselves of their cultural memories are often seen as a significant taboo.
