Director

Erica Lehrer

erica.lehrer@concordia.ca

I am an associate professor in the departments of History and Sociology-Anthropology at Concordia University. I held the Canada Research Chair in Museum and Heritage Studies from 2007-2017. My interests relate to the social life of history, particularly as it attaches to everyday objects and landscapes. My work thus far has focused on post-Holocaust Jewish culture; heritage, museums, and tourism; ethnography; intercultural dialogue; and public scholarship. Many of my publications can be accessed here. In 2013 I curated the exhibit Souvenir, Talisman, Toy at the Seweryn Udziela Ethnographic Museum in Krakow, Poland, and in 2014 published the accompanying book and online exhibit Lucky Jews. I am currently at work on an the collaborative project Awkward Objects of Genocide, which will result in a variety of museum interventions in 2018.

The CaPSL community is made up of affiliates who are researchers, curators, educators working in the academy, in museums, and in the broader community of Montreal. Other affiliates in Ottawa and Winnipeg are linked to us through national and international museology research grants.  Our academic community is interdisciplinary, drawing on anthropology, history, art history, sociology, education, women and gender studies, children’s studies and more. Geographically, our projects are local, national, and international, including Argentina, Germany, Poland and South Africa. We invite diverse research groups and individuals to become involved in our community and to make use of the resources of our exhibition laboratory, including technical, conceptual, and administrative support for curatorial projects.

CaPSL is currently establishing an advisory committee to vet exhibition projects and affiliates, seek funding and programming opportunities, and plan events. CaPSL’s Director of Media Technologies and our Administrative Assistant are also integral to our activities.