Time Memory Institution

This collection is the first extended investigation of the relation between time and memory in Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s thought as a whole and the first to explore in depth the significance of his concept of institution. It brings the French phenomenologist’s views on the self and ontology into contemporary focus. Time, Memory, Institution argues that the self is not a self-contained or self-determining identity, as such; it is gathered out of a radical openness to what is not self, and that it gathers itself in a time that is not merely a given dimension, but folds back upon, gathers, and institutes itself. Access to previously unavailable texts, in particular Merleau-Ponty’s lectures on institution and expression, has presented scholars with new resources for thinking about time, memory, and history. These essays represent the best of this new direction in scholarship; they deepen our understanding of self and world in relation to time and memory; and they give occasion to reexamine Merleau-Ponty’s contribution and relevance to contemporary Continental philosophy. This volume is essential reading for scholars of phenomenology and French philosophy, as well as for the many readers across the arts, humanities, and social sciences who continue to draw insight and inspiration from Merleau-Ponty. Contributors: Elizabeth Behnke, Edward Casey, Véronique Fóti, Donald Landes, Kirsten Jacobson, Galen Johnson, Michael Kelly, Scott Marratto, Glen Mazis, Caterina Rea, John Russon, Robert Vallier, and Bernhard Waldenfels

Memory institutions (libraries, archives, museums and galleries) are confronted with many challenges, from technological change, resource challenges, and shifting public expectations. Cultural documents are frequently “born digital”, while older materials need to be digitized for better public access.

Memory institutions such as archives, libraries, and museums collect, arrange, describe, and preserve their collections and holdings in order to make them accessible to the community. However, these institutions remain underutilized and are struggling to raise awareness of their existence and attract users and funders. The Handbook of Research on Advocacy, Promotion, and Public Programming for Memory Institutions is a collection of innovative research on emerging strategies such as advocacy, outreach, marketing, and public programming to promote memory institutions and engage the community. While highlighting topics including customer service solutions, social media, and collection development strategies, this book is ideally designed for heritage management and information professionals, curators, museum management, archival specialists, librarians, policymakers, researchers, and academicians.

This book examines the character and relevance of remembrance, inviting readers to think creatively and deeply about the ways that memories are transmitted, recorded, and distorted through time and space. Ranging from molecular genetics and astrophysics to law and Indigenous oral histories, the essays draw from a diverse group of contributors to capture different perspectives on memory. Reflecting upon memory in engaging and unexpected ways, this collection offers an interdisciplinary roadmap for exploring how, why, and when we remember.

The story of Nobel Prize–winning discoveries regarding the molecular mechanisms controlling the body’s circadian rhythm. How much of our fate is decided before we are born? Which of our characteristics is inscribed in our DNA? Weiner brings us into Benzer's Fly Rooms at the California Institute of Technology, where Benzer, and his asssociates are in the process of finding answers, often astonishing ones, to these questions. Part biography, part thrilling scientific detective story, Time, Love, Memory forcefully demonstrates how Benzer's studies are changing our world view--and even our lives. Jonathan Weiner, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for The Beak of the Finch, brings his brilliant reporting skills to the story of Seymour Benzer, the Brooklyn-born maverick scientist whose study of genetics and experiments with fruit fly genes has helped revolutionize or knowledge of the connections between DNA and behavior both animal and human.

The discovery of new cell types, such as grid and time cells, in the hippocampus has been accompanied by major anatomical and theoretical insights in the recent years. This book provides comprehensive, up-to-date information about the hippocampal formation and especially the neural basis of episodic memory, spatial location (the formation of the cognitive map) and temporal representation. The first part of the book describes the information flow from pre-hippocampal areas into the hippocampus, the second part discusses the different types of hippocampal processing and finally, the third part depicts the influence that the hippocampal processing has on other brain structures that are perhaps more closely tied to explicit cognitive or behavioral output. This book is intended for neuroscientists, especially for those who are involved in research on the hippocampus, as well as for behavioral scientists and neurologists.

Stories told within institutions play a powerful role, helping to define not only the institution itself, but also its individual members. How do institutions use stories? How do those stories both preserve the past and shape the future? To what extent does narrative construct both collective and individual identity? Charlotte Linde's unique and far-reaching study addresses these questions by looking at the interplay of narratives, memory, and identity in a large insurance company. Her detailed ethnography looks at the role of stories within the institution and how they are employed by its members in both private and group settings. Analyzing the re-telling of certain key stories, she shows how the formation of "core" stories and their multiple re-tellings and modifications provide a means of formulating and promoting a cohesive group identity - which in turn shapes the stories and identities of the individuals within the collective. Linde also looks at silences, and how stories not told also convey their version of the past. Working the Past shows how stories that might otherwise be seen as part of mundane daily life are in fact utterly essential to the formation and maintenance of individual and group identity. Her original research will appeal to those interested in narrative studies, linguistics, anthropology, sociology, and institutional memory.

Essays exploring the importance of archives as artifacts of culture