British professor talks about memory and political economy

Matthew Allen, a British professor at Leicester University, was one of the invited speakers for the 11^th Permanent Forum on Knowledge, Communication and Memory Management: how stories are changing business, that was held at MAM – Museum of Modern Art in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Allen is interested in memory, especially in how emerging digital technologies are transforming how people store, connect and share memories. His research draws on continental philosophy as well as media and cultural studies to explore how memory and forgetting, in the 21st century, are socially organized and mediated.

Allen spoke about these issues during the Forum.  “We all have the ability to remember, and this ability revolves around an economic center”, explained Allen. According to the professor, the economy can shape memory (and vice versa), so it’s imperative to ask who has the right to remember. Allen spoke about how memory works, combining potential memory and active forgetting.

Paulo Nassar, Director President of Aberje and professor ate ECA-USP (School of Communications and Arts at University of Sao Paulo), Matthew Shirts, journalist and Karen Worcman, founder of Museu da Pessoa were present at the debate. The Forum is organised by Aberje, together with ECA-USP, Memoria Votorantim and Museu da Pessoa.