Professor Stéphane Courtois
RNH holds a conference on “Europe of the Victims: Remembering Communism” Saturday 22 September between 13 and 18 at the University of Iceland, the Natural Science House Askja, N–132. The keynote speaker is Professor Stéphane Courtois, editor and one of the authors of the Black Book of Communism which was published by the University of Iceland Press 2009, in a translation by Professor Hannes H. Gissurarson. Other speakers from abroad are Norwegian Professor Oystein Sorensen who will speak on the link between Marxism as a theory and totalitarianism in practice, Australian author Anna Funder, whose Stasiland has been translated into Icelandic, who will speak about daily life under communism, and Dr. Roman Joch, adviser to the Czech Prime Minister, who will speak about the revision of history in the post-communist Central and East European countries.
Two Icelandic scholars will also comment, Professor Hannes H. Gissurarson, author of a recent book, Icelandic Communists 1918–1998, and Professor Thor Whitehead, author of another recent book, Soviet-Iceland. The Country of Our Dreams. Admission is free. More information on the programme participants is available here.
The programme is as follows:
13.00–13.05 Welcome address, Professor Hannes H. Gissurarson
First session. Moderator Egill Helgason
- 13.05–13.45 Stéphane Courtois
- 13.45–14.15 Discussion
Second Session. Moderator Jakob F. Asgeirsson
- 14.15–14.45 Roman Joch
- 14.45–15.15 Anna Funder
- 15.15–15.30 Discussion
- 15.30–15.45 Coffee Break
Third Session. Moderator Ragnhildur Kolka
- 15.45–16.15 Oystein Sorensen
- 16.15–16.45 Hannes H. Gissurarson
- 16.45–17.00 Discussion
- 17.00–17.10 Concluding Remarks: Thor Whitehead
- 17.10-18.00 Reception on the premises
One day before the conference, on Friday, 21 September, Professor Oystein Sorensen will give a lecture at the University of Iceland, room HT-102 in the University Centre, 12–13, on “The Totalitarian Mindset of Anders Breivik”. The meeting is co-sponsored by Vardberg. Bjorn Bjarnason, former Minister of Justice, will chair it. Two days after the conference, on Monday 24 September, Ms. Anna Funder will give a lecture at the University of Iceland, Room O-101, 12–13 on “The Totalitarian Experience”. The meeting is held by the Vigdis Finnbogadottir Institute of foreign languages at the University of Iceland. Martin Regal, Professor of English at the University of Iceland, will chair it. The conference and Funder’s and Sorensen’s lectures form a part of the project “Europe of the Victims: Remembering Communism”, jointly organised by RNH and AECR, the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists.
