9 December 2010

Memory, identity and archives under the spotlight at conference

Around 80 delegates from 14 countries have descended upon Dundee for a conference examining the relationships between memory, identity, and the archival record.

The Centre for Archive and Information Studies (CAIS) at the University of Dundee has welcomed delegates from across the globe for the three-day conference, entitled ‘Memory, Identity and the Archival Paradigm’, which is being held at the Apex Hotel until Friday, 10th December.

The conference forms part of the Royal Society of Edinburgh-supported 'Memory and Identity Network' project.

It follows on from the successful 'Philosophy of the Archive' conference, which was held in Edinburgh in 2008, and was also funded by the RSE. Many of the ideas first raised at that conference will be explored in more depth in Dundee this week.

Patricia Whatley, Director of the Centre for Archive and Information Studies, said, 'The conference is focussing on how the management and interpretation of archives by historians and members of the community influence and affect memory.

'Some of the topics discussed so far have been the issue of how decisions about what to keep in archives are made, and how history is written according to different interpretations, such as political bias.

'Lost memory - the reporting of the holocaust, slavery, the 'Lost Children' and treatment of aboriginal peoples in Australia and North America etc, where personal identities have been lost - is another area under discussion. All is influenced by which archives have survived, and the backgrounds of those who use these archives.'

Keynote speakers at the conference are:

• Terry Cook, Visiting Professor, University of Manitoba, Canada.
• Graham Dominy, Chief Director, National Archives of South Africa.
• David Lowenthal, Emeritus Professor of Geography and Honorary Research Fellow, University College London.

They will be joined by speakers from the UK, Caribbean, Europe, Canada and the United States in exploring the creation and preservation of personal and social memory, identity and the archival record.

The Memory and Identity Network includes a joint doctoral programme between Dundee’s Centre for Archive and Information Studies, and History and Philosophy departments. The first student began their studies earlier this year.

The Centre for Archive and Information Studies is an academic unit within the School of Humanities and offers Masters degrees and doctoral study in archives, records management, information rights and digital record-keeping. There are currently around 30 courses on offer, with around 200 students studying on different Masters pathways.

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
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University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
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