Within this framework, we take an interest in narratives of Europe generally. More specifically, we look at the narrative of reconciliation, which may be considered the grand narrative of post-war European integration. We investigate how this narrative is constructed in French and German life writing texts from the 20^th and 21s centuries. We further analyse if and how this narrative can be considered a ‘model’ for other post-conflict societies within Europe and beyond; in former Yugoslavia, in Korea-Japan, Israel-Palestine etc.

The group is also involved in the Dutch expert group 'Unhinging the National Framework: life writing and Transnationalism'. (Our website is currently under construction). We are, among other things, working on the project Amsterdam Diaries 2025. With the aim to contribute to the celebrations of the 750th anniversary of Amsterdam in 2025, we study diaries from the past and the present as sources for investigating life in Amsterdam as a ´world city´. Our goal is to share these stories with a broad audience, thus contributing to a more diverse history of Amsterdam as well as showcasing what life writing can do.

Publications

• Marleen Rensen and Christopher Wiley (eds). Transnational Perspectives on Artist’s Lives (Palgrave, 2020) https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-45200-1
• Babs Boter, Marleen Rensen and Giles Scott-Smith (eds.), Unhinging the National Framework. Perspectives on -Transnational Life Writing (Sidestone, 2020) https://www.sidestone.com/books/unhinging-the-national-framework
• Marijke Huisman and Marleen Rensen, ‘Introduction: Life Writing and European Identities’ (2019) special collection of the Journal for History, Culture, Modernity. https://brill.com/view/journals/hcm/7/1/article-p1049_48.xml