THE SUBMISSION SYSTEM IS OPEN! DEADLINE - OCTOBER 15
PLEASE SEE THE HOW TO SUBMIT SECTION!
It is a well-established understanding within the field of memory studies that the past is being used – and even weaponized – for countless purposes. The power of memory and the use of it is ever-present on all sorts of political, social, and cultural levels, and it does not necessarily appear to be the case that more knowledge, or more remembering, creates more tolerance and understanding.
This raises questions about responsibility and memory. Do we have responsibilities not only for what we remember, but also for how we remember? Are there ways of remembering responsibly? What does mnemonic responsibility entail at different levels of government? In different institutions and arenas? In different genres and forms of expression? What are the roles and responsibilities of memory agents, memory activists and memory practitioners? What are they responsible for and to whom? And what are then the responsibilities of memory studies – and of other research fields investigating how humans relate to their pasts? Answers to these questions require consideration of what responsibility refers to: whether it is about custody, care and safekeeping? Or about accountability, culpability and liability? Whether responsibility refers to an ethics of intervention or a dutiful obligation to the past, present, and future? This perspective further invites us to approach memory as a living entity and a land-based practice, expanding the notion of responsibility to embrace relationality and accountability to ancestors, the unborn, and the Earth. In this view, responsibility extends beyond a linear timeline to one where we live as though someone born in 2626 matters as much as the one born in 2026.
If we use – and weaponize – the past to situate, organize, or even control the present, and to be able to imagine and prepare for the future, can memory then contribute to imagining alternatives and realizing changes? In other words, can memory contribute to documenting, creating and mobilizing hope? Do memory activists, memory practitioners and memory scholars have responsibilities not only to the past, but also to the future, for example by exploring and investigating memory as a resource for and an archive of hopeful alternatives? Can memory help us imagine possibilities for social cohesion and solidarity, sustainable practices and societies, trans-cultural and trans-generational understanding? Can hope mobilize generative ideas for movements seeking restorative justice and futures stolen by colonialism and exclusionary practices? Can memory help us imagine transformative futures and restorative justice, particularly for Indigenous Peoples and communities throughout the Global South? Can memories of a dark past spark imagination of a bright future? How do memories of war connect with imaginations of peace? And conversely, how do we remember détente, peacebuilding, and conflict transformations in the current context of militarization and war?
The theme of the MSA Annual Conference 2027 is "Memory, responsibility, hope"
We invite proposals for papers, panels, roundtables and special events that address questions related to the interconnections between memory, responsibility and hope, but also to issues within memory studies more broadly, across the social sciences and humanities and including related fields, such as heritage studies, public history, transitional justice, conflict studies, human rights studies, peace studies, social and cognitive psychology, etc.
Proposals may address, but are not limited to, issues such as:
Materialities, mediations and infrastructures of memory, including media, information and public spaces; literature and arts; collections and archives; education and popular culture. How are hope and responsibilities promoted and negotiated in memory mediations and infrastructures? How are responsibilities both for pasts and futures distributed and perhaps also contested?
Heritage and heritage protection. What are the roles and responsibilities of museums, monuments, intangible heritage practices and heritage organizations and institutions? How can they engage with civil society actors in shaping public memory and heritage governance? Can they contribute to social and ecological sustainability, social and historical justice, future imaginaries and hope?
Witnessing, testimonials and oral histories. What are their roles in memory work? How can we approach the other, other voices and insights responsibly and dialogically? Can engagements with oral histories, testimonies and witness accounts strengthen accountability, responsibility and social involvement in memory work? Can it bring forward voices and conceptualizations of justice and hope?
Ecology, environment and sustainability. What is the role of memory in relation to nature and planetary health? How can memory work include and reflect responsibilities and hopes for future generations, ancestors, the Earth, and the more than human? Can we understand memory also as a living entity and land-based practice?
Restorative justice, social justice and transformative futures. How are responsibility and hope advanced and supported by remembering conflicts, violence, human rights violations, wartime experiences, war crimes and trauma? Can remembering difficult pasts contribute to imagining different futures? How is peace remembered and re-imagined?
Affect and emotions. How can we approach painful and difficult memories? Can we think about responsibilities and hope in such contexts? And what are the roles of positive and pleasant memories, including memory of hope and memory of joy?
Hope and responsibility in memory activism and mobilization. Can memory work bring responsibility and hope to communities, contribute to inclusion and resilience, and enhance responsible social and political agency?
Hope and responsibility in memory studies and memory work. What are the roles and responsibilities of memory scholars, memory practitioners, and memory activists?
PLEASE SUBMIT PROPOSALS NO LATER THAN 15 OCTOBER 2026
Submission system
The submission platform will be open from September 8 until October 15, 2026.
The submission will take place through the conference website.
Please note that the conference system operates according to the Lund time zone (Central European Summer Time, GMT+2, from Sunday, October 25, 2026, GMT+1 - Central European Time).
MSA Forward PhD/postgraduate workshop
The MSA conference 2027 will also host the MSA Forward postgraduate workshop, which will take place on 13-14 June, 2027 in Copenhagen and Lund. MSA Forward allows junior researchers to engage with other scholars in their field and receive feedback from established academics. As in previous years, we aim to provide a safe space for engaging in constructive discussions and an opportunity for networking and building lasting connections across disciplines. More information on the theme and the application process will be published soon.
Travel grant & fee waivers
A limited number of travel grants and fee waivers will be available for the conference. More information will be published in the coming weeks in the travel grants section.