May 8, 2018: Assistant Professor Sarah Buchanan will deliver the keynote address at “The Primary Source: An Interdisciplinary Conference on Memory and Identity” on May 17. The NEH-sponsored conference is hosted by Fontbonne University in partnership with the Missouri History Museum, and is focused on interdisciplinary conversations in the arts and sciences. The two-day event features discussions with scholars bridging the disciplines of psychology, history, library and information science, museum studies, digital humanities, political science, religion, law, and media studies.

Dr. Buchanan’s presentation, “Making Audiovisual and Collective Memory Public,” will explore how investments in collection discoverability facilitates community-based and evocative storytelling. “People interact with cultural heritage inside and outside of museum settings, acting in response to tangible events, real memories, and imagined stories. I’m excited to contemplate the roles of collecting, creating, and curating in our communities with the attendees.” Buchanan’s research focuses on data and provenance issues in archival studies. She continues to serve as a faculty advisor for the American Archive of Public Broadcasting Preservation Fellowship led by WGBH which partners archival graduate programs with U.S. public broadcasting organizations.
Registration for the conference is open until May 11.