Mapping & Memory Mini-Conference
Western University | Friday, March 21 | 9am - 4pm
Theme: Community and Survivor-Informed Approaches to Mapping and Memory
When: Friday, 21 March 2025, 9am to 4pm
Where: FIMS/Nursing Building (FNB), Western University
Virtual attendance: Registration for the in-person mini-conference has closed, but if you would like to attend the featured talks (9-10:30am) by Zoom, you may fill out this form to request a Zoom link . We will send an email with a link by 8:30am Friday morning.
Location & Map
We will be holding the mini-conference in the FIMS & Nursing Building (FNB) on Western's campus, located at the intersection of Huron & Lambton Drive. The Huron Drive entrance will bring you directly to the FNB Atrium, where we will hold registration, breakfast, lunch, and our coffee breaks.
Directions to FNB from guest/visitor parking, Springett Parking Lot.
Schedule of Events (March 21)
8-9am - FNB Atrium
Registration, pastries, and coffee
9-10:30am - FNB 2240
Mapping & Memory Projects Across Disciplines. These presentations (15-20 minutes) will highlight established projects and their methods, followed by Q&A.
Featured Presentations:
Histories that Haunt: The Materiality of Black Placemaking and Anti-Black Violence (canceled)
Dr. nkem ike , Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto
Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador Project
Dr. Amanda Grzyb, Faculty of Information & Media Studies, Western University, with Reynaldo Hernández, Zack MacDonald, and María Laura Flores Barba. Project site .
Chinatown Memories: Building Community Power (Virtual)
Dr. Linda Zhang , School of Architecture, University of Waterloo
10:30-10:45am - FNB Atrium
Coffee Break
10:45am -12pm - Breakout locations listed below
Breakout Mapping Workshops. For the second half of the morning, we will break into groups for workshops that explore ideas, ethics, and methods for mapping practice. For planning purposes, we ask everyone to indicate their top two workshop preferences on the registration form. The following workshops will be subject to enrolment -- if one is not offered, we will place you in your second choice!
Workshops:
Understanding Mapping Practices - FNB 4110
This workshop will explore the cultural, ethical, and creative dimensions of mapping, including discussions on geographical, cultural, and decolonial maps. We will examine the power dynamics embedded in mapping, ethical challenges related to representation, and how maps shape perceptions of borders.
Digital Mapping Methods for Community-Based Fieldwork - FNB 2240
This workshop will explore digital methods for conducting mapping in the field (e.g., Survey123, GIS), with a focus on how to plan and carry out a project that incorporates different forms of data (e.g., spatial, narrative, visual) with community members.
Layering Interdisciplinary Data - FNB 4130
This workshop will explore what comes next: what we do with the various forms of data we collect while doing mapping & memory work with communities. Rather than a how-to, we will examine different ways the group has approached these challenges, including interactive maps, virtual reconstructions, websites, and other outputs.
12-1pm - FNB Atrium
Catered lunch from Yasmine's Restaurant (vegan and vegetarian options will be available)
1-3pm - FNB 1200
Early & Emerging Projects Roundtable. The afternoon will be dedicated to a roundtable conversation for early or emerging projects to share their work, discuss ideas, ask questions, share resources, and/or brainstorm with the group. A list of featured participants will be distributed the week of the conference, and there will be time for open sharing and discussion at the end of the session.
3-4pm - FNB Atrium
Coffee, discussion wrap-up, and networking
Related Events (March 20 & 22)
The Mapping & Memory Mini-Conference coincides with two other events happening through Western's Department of Anthropology: the annual Spence Lecture (Thursday, March 20) and the Western Anthropology Graduate Society Student Conference (Saturday, March 22).
Thursday, March 20: Department of Anthropology Spence Lecture
The afternoon before the mini-conference, we would like to invite everyone to attend a talk by Dr. Edward González-Tennant (University of Texas Rio Grande Valley).
"Digital Technologies for Sympathetic Archaeologies"
Dr. Edward González-Tennant, Assistant Professor, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
When: 4:30-5:30pm, with reception to follow
Where: Weldon Library Community Room
All are welcome! No in person registration required, but you are welcome to register for a Zoom link on the Spence Lecture website .
Reception to follow at the Map & Data Centre, Weldon Library.
Saturday, March 22: 12th Annual WAGS Conference
Entanglement in the Digital Era: Technology's Imprint on Society, Research, and Humanity in the 21st Century
When: 10am - 6pm
Where: Weldon Library Community Room
Please register for the conference using this link .
