Nous invitons les jeunes chercheurs de tout cycle et toute discipline dont les travaux portent sur ces thématiques à contribuer au XXII^e colloque international interdisciplinaire des cycles supérieurs de l’université de Montréal sur le thème de Mythes, légendes et histoire : la réalité dépassée ? Participer à ce colloque est une occasion unique de présenter vos recherches, d'échanger avec d'autres collègues et professeurs, et par la suite de publier vos résultats.

Argument

Myths and legends, aside from being a fundamental part of every civilisation, also participate in the construction of culture. The way they are transformed over time is essential: shaped in part by the evolution of societies and international exchange, they are a testament to how societies perceive their own history. Myths are an idealised form of discourse about historical characters, events and other phenomenon. Legends, on the other hand, are narratives of a wondrous or supernatural order which transform prior historical facts, either through the workings of the popular imagination or through poetic design.

History, myths and legends are each different ways of talking about the real, but they are not separate forms of discourse, for they interact in popular culture, education and collective memory. Through such interactions, is reality bypassed or even exceeded? To the extent that history is itself subject to change—for changes occur once biased perspectives or ideological reappropriations of reality are challenged—what tools can the discipline provide to set the boundaries between reality and fiction? Conversely, how do myths and legends deconstruct these boundaries? Given that multiple myths and legends have shaped our culture and those of others, how have these narratives influenced one another? How have they become integrated into and consequently shaped our historical understanding? How do myths and legends become vehicles for the collective history of a given civilization? Do written and oral forms of history influence each other and can they be combined with myths and legends to produce a global history? From a broader perspective, do other disciplines, such as sociology or anthropology, make the boundaries between reality and fiction more nebulous or more precise?

In literature and the visual arts, myths and legends have been subject to changes which have been contingent on the times that produced them. Indeed, insofar as they contribute to the construction of a national identity and reinforce the values of those in power, art and literature often delve into the past to find a way to bring people together. When myths and legends are used or appropriated by the arts, is historical memory preserved? What responsibility does an historian have when trying to convey the memory of a glorious figure or of a past event? What tensions exist between the demands or criteria that the media must follow and those that pertain to the historian?

The practice of history has evolved greatly since Herodotus’ Histories. Given these shifting contexts, we must ask: Can myths and legends continue to play a guiding role in the narrative flow of time?

Young researchers of all academic levels and disciplines whose work focuses on these themes are invited to contribute to the XXIInd International Interdisciplinary Colloquium of the University of Montreal’s Department of History Graduate Students’ Association. Participation in this colloquium offers a valuable opportunity to present your research, interact with other scholars and professors, and then publish your results.

Guidelines submission

Please send your panel or individual proposal (250 words maximum) in either English or French

before December 23, 2014 at midnight

to both: colloqueumontreal2015@gmail.com and marie.zissis@umontreal.ca. Proposals on alternative topics will also be considered.

Please include your surname, first name and institutional affiliation, and also a grant application with an estimate of travel costs, if financial assistance is required.