The Memory Project studies how memory is produced and reproduced and seeks to participate in and catalyze that process through support for educational initiatives and production of media and the arts, as well as through public history and commemorative events.
Opportunities
Apply for the 2024 Civil Rights Tour
The third Civil Rights Tour runs June 22-28. Paid for by the Memory Project and donors. UVA employees can apply here; teacher and the public can apply here.
Our work is forward-facing and applied in nature, bringing together theoretical investigation of the politics of memory with direct engagement with its real-world effects.
Photo credit: Sanjay Suchak
Arguments
Read Director Schmidt’s op-ed exploring the ways post-war Germans’ redress of trauma and memorialization were aligned with the aim of revitalizing democracy
ViewAt the center the work of the Memory Project is the question of how to address historical trauma
The Memory Project is rooted in projects centered on Charlottesville, which in the past years has become a pivotal space in defining and shaping broader debates about memory in the United States.
Film.
Memory Project artist-in-residence Micah Ariel Watson’s gospel-infused short films 40th & State and Barky’s
The Memory Project is part of the University of Virginia’s Karsh Institute of Democracy and is partially funded by the Mellon Foundation and the Ford Foundation. It promotes research, curriculum development, and public engagement to address issues of public memory, memory conflict, and memory politics in the wake of the white supremacist violence in Charlottesville in 2017.
Listen to the Memory Project supported student podcast “Still We Rise” by Reflections
Watch “Marching toward emancipation: Commemorating the arrival of Union troops in Charlottesville,” celebrating Liberation and Freedom Day.
Read Director Schmidt’s opinion piece on the “moral risks of hazardous statue disposal”
Memory Project Event
Join the Memory Project for its virtual launch event featuring Susan Neiman, author of Learning from the Germans: Race and the Memory of Evil, moderated by Washington Post columnist Michele Norris. Register here
Freedom and Liberation Day Event
NBC29 featured the "Marching Toward Emancipation" event with Memory Project director Schmidt in its coverage of Freedom and Liberation Day.
Spirit and Struggle: Films
The Memory Project hosted "Landmarks of Black Sacred Song" virtual screening of films by artist-in-residence, Micah Ariel Watson (UVA '18) and a discussion with Prof. Ashon Crawley.
What Happens After? A Conversation about Monuments, Memory, and this Moment
The Memory Project's Prof. Jalane Schmidt will be discussing topics and issues to consider in the aftermath of the removal of Confederate symbols for UVA A&S's "Between the Columns" on October 7, at 7:00pm. Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/between-the-columns-with-kevin-gaines-carol...