Memory Studies Association

The Memory Studies Association (MSA) is a professional association for Memory Studies scholars, as well as those who are active in museums, memorial institutions, archives, the arts and other fields engaged in remembrance. The objective is to become the most important forum for the memory field – both through an annual, international and interdisciplinary conference and through a strong online presence. Memory studies has grown considerably over the past decade, but does not yet have many clearly designated venues for people from different disciplinary and professional backgrounds to exchange ideas and to learn from each others’ theoretical, methodological and empirical approaches. Moreover, questions surrounding remembering are being investigated around the world, but there is too little interaction (and thus, often a lack of understanding) between various places. We hope to change this by actively identifying and inviting scholars and practitioners who are thus far underrepresented in existing scholarly networks. Finally, the MSA seeks to foster politically and civically engaged scholarship by publicly voicing concerns about political uses of the past. The Memory Studies Association was launched symbolically at its inaugural conference in Amsterdam (3-5 December 2016), which was attended by around 200 scholars and practitioners from a wide range of disciplines. It was legally registered on June 26, 2017 in the Netherlands.