My Parents’ World
About the project

In August 2015, Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Kolkata and Goethe-Institut Dhaka, together with their partners “Centre for Studies in Social Sciences Calcutta”, “Research Initiative Bangladesh” and “South Asia Institute” – University Heidelberg" had started the project “My Parents’ World – Inherited Memories”.

The project researches inherited memories within the third generation post Partition of Bengal which had taken place in 1947 via interviews / oral history research. Young scientists from Kolkata and Dhaka explore how these ‘un-objectifiable memories’ and subjectively transmitted stories influence the image of the third generation of post-partition history. Through the multi-perspective of several of these inherited experiences and stories, the project intents to achieve a convergence of general understanding of this segment of historical developments.

“My Parents’ World – Inherited memories” website

Given the timeframe and resources, we had to restrict our sample size to 20 respondents. The project-website containing research findings and background information will be launched this year. Goethe-Institut hopes, that many researchers take up the topic and start interviewing members themselves which could, together with the existing first interviews form a growing virtual space for remembrance. The aim: To remember the migration of over eight million people and to research the "inherited memories“ of the third generation post partition in order to learn how to deal with transmitted traumas and to open a path into the future.

Interested?

If you are interested in becoming an independent interviewer and want your interviews to be published on the “My Parents’ World – inherited memories” website, please contact info@kolkata.goethe.org, best before starting the interview process.