An Interdisciplinary Graduate Student Conference on The Archive of =20
the Future/The Future of the Archive

In his essay =93Valery Proust Museum=94, Adorno associates museums with =20=

death rationalized, pointing at how a modernized form forces a =20
chronological order onto the objects. This imposition, as he =20
describes it, is partially a function of the physical layout of the =20
archival space. In the digital age, however, archives no longer need =20
necessarily be housed physically, nor must they abide by =20
chronological schema. Our present question concerns the future of =20
the archive and what the archive of the future might look like or =20
accomplish. Does the digitization of the archive give us an =20
opportunity to rethink the archival project in terms of how the =20
archive, its access and selection, has effects on knowledge, =20
authority, and subjectivities?

Addressing the archive as an abstract concept, a concrete object, and =20=

a practice, we would like to consider theoretical explorations as =20
well as projects focusing on libraries, museums, collections, =20
collectors, the technical difficulties of archiving, standards or =20
difficulties of preservation, and other theoretical, technical, or =20
topical investigations.

Topics of interest can include but are by no means limited to:

=95 Legality, authority, or dissemination of archives
=95 Structures of the digital environment or how interfaces affect the =20=

archival enterprise
=95 Digitization and dynamics of globalization, imperialism, local =20
movements
=95 Distinctions between public and private spaces
=95 Anonymity, erotics of encounter, role playing, and new or temporary =20=

subjectivities
       formed in contributing to or observing digital archives
=95 Archived memory in life-writing (autobiography, letters, journals, =20=

blogs, etc.)
=95 Archives, access, and =93the aura=94 of a work
=95 The role of manuscripts, illuminated or otherwise
=95 Preservation and transmission of oral or written histories and =
memory
=95 Literary variorum
=95 Questions of old canons, new canons, and the end of the canon

The conference will be held the weekend of April 6th and 7th at the =20
University of Rochester in Rochester, NY and will be hosted by the =20
English Department and the Program in Visual and Cultural Studies, as =20=

well as being funded by the Humanities Project. There will be =20
multiple keynote speakers. Previous conference proceedings have been =20=

published in (In)Visible Culture. We are seeking interdisciplinary =20
work in various fields, given as 20 minute papers, artist =20
presentations, or other scholarly/professional visual presentations.

Please submit 500 word abstracts, including 5-10 digital images if =20
you are proposing an artist talk or visual presentation, to =20
futureofthearchive_at_gmail.com by Monday, January 15, 2007.

For information and updates please see: http://www.rochester.edu/=20
college/humanities/projects/?archive&events

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Received on Fri Dec 15 2006 - 20:16:07 EST