Rethinking Collective Memory

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Brief Description

Memory is one of the most ubiquitous concepts in the social sciences and humanities. (Indeed, it is the theme of this year’s ASEEES convention!) And yet the concept at the heart of the memory studies endeavor—collective memory—remains remarkably murky and ill-defined. Key questions about it remain unresolved: Is collective memory a metaphor or is it in some sense real? How does one discern collective memory apart from its representations? Does it exist apart from its representations? Who decides that a particular representation of the past embodies the memory of the collective? Is there one collective memory for every social group or multiple? If multiple, then in what sense is the memory collective? If unitary, how does one account for conflicting memories? Does collective memory extend into the far recesses of the past or is it confined to more recent temporal horizons? And so on. Drawing on cutting-edge historical and anthropological research in Eastern Europe and Russia, this roundtable seeks to answer these and other questions by showcasing the novel ways the concept has come to be used and by underscoring its limitations.

Sub Unit

• History: Since 1990

Chair

• Larry Wolff, New York U

Roundtable Speakers

• Michael Liddon Meng, Clemson U

• Thomas W. Ort, CUNY Queens College

• Olga Shevchenko, Williams College

• Pieter M. Judson, European U Institute (Italy)