Research group MemoriUM – Memory Studies in Umeå
MemoriUM (Memory Studies in Umeå) is a research group that brings together researchers and practitioners from across the University and City of Umeå who are interested in the study of memory, remembering and forgetting (as well as related phenomena such as heritage and nostalgia).
The international and interdisciplinary academic field of memory studies analyses the dynamic manner by which the past is remembered in the present. Traditionally split between the individualistic focus of the cognitive and neurosciences and the collective focus of the humanities and social sciences, the field’s bifurcation is being increasingly challenged in light, partly, of advances in digital technology (including those related to artificial intelligence).
MemoriUM welcomes scholars and practitioners from any discipline or working sector interested in the study of memory. Currently composed of those with backgrounds in contemporary archaeology, heritage studies, cultural geography, digtial sociology, gender studies, museum studies, cultural and environmental history, cultural studies, ethnography, and political science MemoriUM aims to grow to include an even greater diversity of disciplinary and practice-oriented perspectives.
If you would like to join the group, please reach out to one of the main coordinators Samuel Merrill and Olga Zabalueva.
MemoriUM aims to serve as an incubator for collaboration between Umeå based memory scholars and practitioners. It currently organises regular informal ‘memory lunches’ and has seeks to facilitate joint events, teaching programmes, and external funding applications. It also serves as a forum for the critical discussion of cutting-edge memory studies research, and members’ ongoing projects and publications of which some are listed below.
