My project revolves around reflecting on crimes against humanity as a form of violence that is irreparable but must nonetheless be addressed, lest we remain locked in destructive forms of memory. The project will unfold across two distinct yet deeply interconnected dimensions. First, I aim to approach the issue of reparations through theoretical reflection, informed by analyses of historical events—genocidal catastrophes and crimes against humanity—and by interpretations of literary and/or testimonial works born out of such tragedies. The works on which I draw do not trap memory in isolation or singularity but instead open up pathways to connection and healing through universalisation. Second, I want to pair this theoretical exploration with a practical attempt at reparation. I envision my text as a space for symbolic repair, addressing the massacres that occurred in Bisesero, Rwanda, in June 1994 and the ongoing impunity that obstructs any form of political or judicial accountability for these acts of genocide and the complicity of the French military and state in their perpetration. My personal experience—that of an engaged individual (Rothberg) whose commitments and intellectual pursuits have evolved over time—will be examined through the essay form, alongside the hands-on practice of pursuing symbolic justice (through art and investigation, forensic inquiry, and testimony collection in particular).
DR. AURÉLIA KALISKY
CURRICULUM VITAE
Aurélia Kalisky is a French scholar specializing in comparative literature. For many years, she worked in Berlin at the Leibniz Center for Literary and Cultural Research and the Centre Marc Bloch, where she took part in and co-led DFG-funded projects on the cultural history of testimony and the scholarly practices and writing methods of Jewish intellectuals after the Holocaust. She has been a guest scholar at several institutes across Europe, including the Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies (NIOD) in Amsterdam, the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies (VWI), and the Moses Mendelssohn Center (MMZ) in Potsdam. Her research focuses on testimonial works born out of historical catastrophes caused by extreme political violence, as well as on the ways in which memory is shaped and history is written in the aftermath of such events. She seeks to bridge academic research with a form of public engagement, notably through her participation in investigative commissions examining the complicity of the French state in Rwanda and by organizing an exhibition in Austria this year on the experiences of children during and after the Tutsi genocide.
