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CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State University will host a symposium this Friday, April 16, that will examine the roles "cultural memory" plays in society, how interpretations of events may differ among groups, and conflicts between individual and collective memories.

The symposium, which is part of OSU's Holocaust Memorial Week, is free and open to the public. Titled "Cultural memory and the Representation of Genocide as a Concern for Social Justice," it runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Joyce Powell Leadership Room in the Memorial Union on campus.

Joy Degruy will open the symposium by giving the keynote address at 10 a.m., "African American Multi-Generational Trauma and Healing." A social worker and consultant, Degruy has worked with many different institutions and organization on topics of culture, race relations and contemporary social issues.

In addition to working with such universities as Harvard, Oxford, Columbian and University of Chicago, she also has given seminars for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, different police agencies, Nike, Nordstrom and the National Basketball Association.

Among the other presentations:

• "Blended a History in Red and Black: Cultural Memory and the Legacy of Native American and African American Peoples," Victoria Burton, an OSU animal science major, 11 a.m.;
• "Ten Minutes: Viola Cordova, Western Science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge," Gail Woodside, OSU master's student in rangeland ecology and management, 11:30 a.m.
• "Mourning in Exile: Vietnamese-American Displacement after the War," Gennie Thi-Nguyen, doctoral student in cultural anthropology, University of Oregon; 12:30 p.m.
• "Cambodian Genocide: An Oral History," members of the Cambodian Student Association, 1 p.m.
• "The Resisting Elder: The Aged Trickster as an Anti-Hegemonial Power in Native American Literature," Philipp Kneis, a scholar of Native American studies, 2:15 p.m.
• "Disrupting and Restoring Hozho: Nuclear Colonialism and the Navajo Nation," Linda Richards, OSU graduate student in the history of science; 2:45 p.m.
• "Re-Remembering My Roma/Sinti Family: the Personal Impact of Genocide," Spirit Brooks, OSU master's degree student in the College Student Services Administration program; 3:15 p.m.

The closing address, "Indigenous and LGBT Communities of Color: Healing the Soul Wound through Cultural Memory," will be given by Andrew Jolivette at 4 p.m. A faculty member in American Indian Studies at San Francisco State University, Jolivette is active in social issues including educational reform, cultural representation, gay marriage, mixed race relationships and AIDS.

The symposium is a collaborative effort of OSU's Holocaust committee, the history department and Intercultural Student Services.