February 7-9, 2008
The New School for Social Research
Wolff Conference Room
65 Fifth Avenue (between 13th and 14th Streets), 2nd Floor

A rapidly growing interest in memory studies is shared today by different academic disciplines. From studies of memory in the brain by neurobiologists and psychologists, to the study of cultural forms of remembrance by sociologists, cultural critics and art historians, different disciplines study how memory functions and how it is constructed and used, either as the unit of research or as a lens through which to explore other phenomena. Yet only rarely do these disciplines meet to engage in a conversation with one another on the topic. However, if and when they meet, they might find that what they share most is the need for new paradigms and analyses that bridge and support the diverse disciplines of memory studies. This conference brings together leading scholars in the field and graduate students to break new ground for their specific disciplines, as well as for the memory discourse in general. In the tradition and spirit of the New School for Social Research the conference is devoted to developing a critical debate among the social sciences and humanities around the question: Is an Interdisciplinary Field of Memory Studies Possible? And if it is possible, how can it contribute to new paradigms and analyses of memory.

Speakers include Dominick LaCapra, Richard McNally, James V. Wertsch, Atina Grossman, Eviatar Zerubavel, Robyn Fivush, Barbie Zelizer, Marianne Hirsch, David Rubin, Andrew Hoskins, Robin Wagner-Pacifici, and Marita Sturken.

Together with the conference will be an exhibition on display at 65 Fifth Avenue of multi-media projects by students of Media Studies (The New School for General Studies) and Parsons School of Design that address the topic of memory.

Dates: Thursday, February 7 – Saturday, February 9, 2008
Location: 65 Fifth Avenue (between 13th and 14th Streets),
The New School for Social Research

For full conference program please visit:
www.nssrmemoryconference.com

For more information or to join our mailing list, email:
NSSRMemoryConference@gmail.com or call 212-229-5580 x3136 or (212) 229-5426 x 4916.

Organizing Committee (NSSR Interdisciplinary Memory Group):
Adam Brown, Alin Coman, Lindsey Freeman, Yifat Gutman, Amy Sodaro
Faculty Advisors: William Hirst, Vera Zolberg

Co-sponsors: International Center for Transitional Justice; The New Sociological Imagination Series; The New School Psychology Bulletin; Transregional Center for Democratic Studies