The power and politics of recording the past

The creation and interpretation of histories and their impact on society and individuals formed the basis of an international conference organised by the University's Centre for Archive and Information Studies.

Keynote speakers at The Philosophy of the Archive conference in Edinburgh included Verne Harris, an archivist at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory in South Africa and Professor Terry Cook, University of Manitoba, and Dr Elizabeth Shepherd from University College London.

The one day conference was the second in a series of events, held in conjunction with the University's department of English, which forms part of the Royal Society of Edinburgh funded project "Investigating the Archive."

Speakers at the conference discussed the politics and power that underlies the recording of societal and individual memory and the fate of the unrepresented and forgotten. The question of who decides what will represent a community now and in the future was also investigated.

"This conference forms part of the development of a research focus on memory and forgetting," said Mrs Patricia Whatley, Director of CAIS.

"The Centre, in conjunction with philosophy and history, is developing a PhD in Memory which will be launched in September. In conjunction with English and external partners, CAIS has been awarded a Research Network Award to expand this interdisciplinary approach to the theory and practice of recording, remembrancing and forgetting."

More information on the Centre is available at www.dundee.ac.uk/cais.