Memory Studies Association

Memory Studies Association
Name	Memory Studies Association
Formation	2015
Type	Learned society
Headquarters	International
Region served	Global
Leader title	President

Memory Studies Association

The Memory Studies Association is an international learned society dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of memory studies through connections among scholars affiliated with institutions such as Harvard University, University of Oxford, Yale University, University of Toronto, Stanford University and organizations like the International Federation for Public History and the German Historical Institute. It fosters comparative work on topics related to Holocaust Memorialization, Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa), 1968 protests, Soviet historiography, and postcolonial studies by bringing together researchers from fields represented at venues like the American Historical Association, Modern Language Association, International Council on Archives, Centre Pompidou, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The Association interfaces with museums such as the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, Museum of Memory and Human Rights (Santiago), and archives like the Bundesarchiv and the National Archives (United Kingdom).

History

The Association was founded in the wake of major scholarly gatherings that included panels at the American Historical Association, the Modern Language Association, the Association of American Geographers, the International Sociological Association, and symposia hosted by the University of Amsterdam, University of Buenos Aires, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Sciences Po, and the London School of Economics. Early leadership included scholars with affiliations to King's College London, University of California, Berkeley, Columbia University, University of Melbourne, and National University of Singapore who had previously collaborated on projects linked to the European Research Council and funding from foundations such as the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the Wellcome Trust. The Association’s genesis responded to historiographical debates exemplified by controversies around Christopher Browning, Daniel Goldhagen, Noam Chomsky-era memory politics, and public reckonings after events like the Rwandan Genocide and the Argentine Dirty War.

Organization and Governance

A governing Council composed of scholars elected from diverse institutions—examples include faculty from Princeton University, University of Cape Town, University of Buenos Aires, Peking University, and Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile—oversees the Association. Advisory committees with members from the International Center for Transitional Justice, the European University Institute, the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, and the Institute of Historical Memory (México) guide policy on ethics, equity, and archival access. Leadership roles mirror practices found in societies such as the Royal Historical Society and the American Historical Association, with bylaws influenced by standards promoted by the Committee on Publication Ethics and the Global Alliance for Memory Studies.

Activities and Programs

The Association runs workshops, seminars, and summer schools that partner with institutions like the Getty Research Institute, VIAF, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Smithsonian Institution, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and the International Center for Transitional Justice. It supports digital humanities projects drawing on collections from the British Library, Library of Congress, Biblioteca Nacional de España, and archives such as the Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives and the International Tracing Service. Collaborative outreach includes co-sponsorships with the Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the European Court of Human Rights, and cultural sites like the Anne Frank House and Memorial Hall (Cambridge).

Conferences and Events

Annual conferences rotate through host cities that have included Berlin, Mexico City, Toronto, London, Buenos Aires, Jerusalem, and Seoul, with local partners such as the Humboldt University of Berlin, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, University of Toronto Scarborough, Goldsmiths, University of London, Universidad de Buenos Aires Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Seoul National University. Panels often intersect with subject areas covered by the International Association of Genocide Scholars, the Oral History Association, the International Federation for Theatre Research, and the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity. Keynote speakers have come from institutions such as Princeton University, University of Chicago, École des hautes études en sciences sociales, University of Edinburgh, and University of Melbourne.

Publications and Awards

The Association supports publication outlets and prizes connected to journals and presses like the Memory Studies (journal), Journal of Modern History, English Historical Review, Routledge, Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Berghahn Books, and the University of California Press. Awards recognize work on topics related to transitional justice and comparative memorialization with endorsements from bodies such as the American Council of Learned Societies and the British Academy. Shortlists and winners often include scholarship engaging archives like the State Archive of the Russian Federation, the National Archives and Records Administration, and the Central State Archive of Ukraine.

Membership and Chapters

Membership comprises scholars, graduate students, archivists, museum professionals, and activists affiliated with institutions including Indiana University Bloomington, McGill University, University of Lagos, University of Cape Coast, Makerere University, Universidad de San Andrés, and Seoul National University. Regional chapters and working groups form around themes linked to the African Studies Association, the Latin American Studies Association, the Asian Studies Association, and networks inside the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative. Student and early-career groups liaise with summer institutes at Kingston University, University of Amsterdam, and University of California, Los Angeles.

Impact and Reception

Scholarly reception cites the Association’s role in shaping debates visible in volumes from Routledge and Palgrave Macmillan, conference proceedings featured at the British Academy and policy briefings for the United Nations Human Rights Council, the European Parliament, and national remembrance commissions such as the German Bundestag Committee on Culture and Media. Critics and commentators from outlets linked to The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, El País, and academic forums at the Social Science Research Council have debated its stances on contentious cases including controversies over statues and monuments in cities like Charlottesville and legislative initiatives such as the French law on colonialism and commemorative disputes involving the Tokyo Tribunal legacy.

Category:Learned societies