The colloquium, ‘Literature, democracy and transitional justice’, held in Oxford 18-20 March 2018, is part of the second phase (2017-2020) in the activities of the international research network, ‘GDRI Literature and Democracy (19th-21st centuries): Theoretical, Historical and Comparative Approaches’. It brought together participants from over a dozen countries to address specific situations of transitional justice across the globe, including Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Columbia, Tunisia, South Africa, Rwanda, Taiwan, Algeria and former Yugoslavia. The event opens dialogue between scholars working on authoritarian systems and democratic transitions in the fields of literary studies, history, philosophy and law. The colloquium features the Syrian writer Zakaria Tamer. Sponsored by St John’s College; GDRI Literature and Democracy (19th-21st centuries); Maison Française Oxford; DEMOCRACY (Casa de Velázquez, Madrid) and Oxford Comparative Criticism and Translation. Conveners: Mohamed-Salah Omri (St John’s College, Oxford); Philippe Roussin (HESS, Paris); Agnès Delage (Aix-Marseille)