Remnants of the Past and the Quest for Identity: Reading August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson in the Context of Collective Memory

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Lamiaa Youssef
Keyword(s):  
Collective Memory ◽  
The Past ◽  
Piano Lesson

The Palestinian Refugee Camps In Jordan: Between National Identity and Socio-economic Integration

2004 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 198-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ala Al-Hamarneh
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Collective Memory ◽  
Economic Integration ◽  
Refugee Camps ◽  
Spatial Integration ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
The Past ◽  
Distinct Character ◽  
Palestinian Refugee

At least 50 per cent of the population of Jordan is of Palestinian origin. Some 20 per cent of the registered refugees live in ten internationally organized camps, and another 20 per cent in four locally organized camps and numerous informal camps. The camps organized by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) play a major role in keeping Palestinian identity alive. That identity reflects the refugees' rich cultural traditions, political activities, as well as their collective memory, and the distinct character of each camp. Over the past two decades integration of the refugees within Jordanian society has increased. This paper analyses the transformation of the identity of the camp dwellers, as well as their spatial integration in Jordan, and other historical and contemporary factors contributing to this transformation.

Collective Memory: Between Values and Historical Knowledge

2020 ◽  
pp. 124-142
Author(s):  
VICTOR BURLACHUK
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Collective Memory ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
The State ◽  
Main Element ◽  
Rapid Decline ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future

At the end of the twentieth century, questions of a secondary nature suddenly became topical: what do we remember and who owns the memory? Memory as one of the mental characteristics of an individual’s activity is complemented by the concept of collective memory, which requires a different method of analysis than the activity of a separate individual. In the 1970s, a situation arose that gave rise to the so-called "historical politics" or "memory politics." If philosophical studies of memory problems of the 30’s and 40’s of the twentieth century were focused mainly on the peculiarities of perception of the past in the individual and collective consciousness and did not go beyond scientific discussions, then half a century later the situation has changed dramatically. The problem of memory has found its political sound: historians and sociologists, politicians and representatives of the media have entered the discourse on memory. Modern society, including all social, ethnic and family groups, has undergone a profound change in the traditional attitude towards the past, which has been associated with changes in the structure of government. In connection with the discrediting of the Soviet Union, the rapid decline of the Communist Party and its ideology, there was a collapse of Marxism, which provided for a certain model of time and history. The end of the revolutionary idea, a powerful vector that indicated the direction of historical time into the future, inevitably led to a rapid change in perception of the past. Three models of the future, which, according to Pierre Nora, defined the face of the past (the future as a restoration of the past, the future as progress and the future as a revolution) that existed until recently, have now lost their relevance. Today, absolute uncertainty hangs over the future. The inability to predict the future poses certain challenges to the present. The end of any teleology of history imposes on the present a debt of memory. Features of the life of memory, the specifics of its state and functioning directly affect the state of identity, both personal and collective. Distortion of memory, its incorrect work, and its ideological manipulation can give rise to an identity crisis. The memorial phenomenon is a certain political resource in a situation of severe socio-political breaks and changes. In the conditions of the economic crisis and in the absence of a real and clear program for future development, the state often seeks to turn memory into the main element of national consolidation.

Justice, Acknowledgment, and Collective Memory

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Valls
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Collective Memory ◽  
The United States ◽  
Truth Commissions ◽  
Place Names ◽  
The Past ◽  
Regime Transitions

In regime transitions, a number of mechanisms are utilized to memorialize the past and to reject the ideas associated with human rights abused of the prior regime. This is often done through truth commissions, apologies, memorials, museums, changes in place names, national holidays, and other symbolic measures. In the United States, some efforts along these lines have been undertaken, but on the whole they have been very limited and inadequate. In addition, many symbols and memorials associated with the past, such as Confederate monuments and the Confederate Battle Flag, continue to be displayed. Hence while some progress has been made on these issues, much more needs to be done.

The Art of Mythical History and the Temporality of the Athenian Epitaphioi Logoi

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 312-340
Author(s):  
Avi Kapach
Keyword(s):  
Collective Memory ◽  
The Past

AbstractThis essay examines the use of myth and history in the Athenian public funeral speeches (epitaphioi logoi), concentrating specifically on temporality implied by the impulse to “mythologize” recent memories through speech, logos (Dem. 60.9; cf. Pl. Menex. 239b7-c7). While Loraux and other scholars are correct that the epitaphioi endowed Athens with a certain eternity by construing the present through the timeless lens of myth, the prevailing tendency to suspend the Athens of the epitaphioi outside of time leads to difficulties. As I argue, the chronological organization of the epitaphioi grants these speeches an important temporal element and situates them in the same continuum as the present – a move further reinforced by the tendency of the orators to rationalize the Athenian myths much as historians might; accordingly, I propose an adjusted taxonomy with which to approach the temporal status of Athenian epitaphic encomium: the epitaphioi are “mythical” less because of their eternalizing perspective than because of the malleable and pluralistic way in which they conceived of the past and molded it to their ideological purpose. Borrowing from anthropological and cognitive psychological frameworks, I further suggest that by routinely reconsolidating the past in the collective memory of the polis the epitaphioi positioned themselves in opposition to historiography.

Remains of a Picnic: Post-Transition Hungary and Its Austro-Hungarian Past

2013 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 255-291
Author(s):  
Márton Dornbach
Keyword(s):  
Collective Memory ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
Complex Dynamics ◽  
East Germany ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Iron Curtain ◽  
Berlin Wall ◽  
The Past

It is difficult to imagine how collective memory might function without the watershed dates that structure our stories about the past. Almost by definition, however, such familiar milestones fail to capture the complex dynamics of the transition from one era to the next. A case in point is the dismantling of the Iron Curtain. As the anniversary commemorations of 2009 showed, this development came to be epitomized by the tearing down of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989. One does not need to doubt the importance of this event to see that its sheer symbolic weight tends to obscure the intricacies of the Eastern European transition process. More often than not, accounts that foreground this turning point marginalize some sixty million Hungarians, Poles, Czechs, and Slovaks who embarked on the transition process well ahead of the citizens of East Germany.

scholarly journals The Kosovo memory book as an example of the recording of war victimisation: Methodology and importance for establishing the facts about the past, collective memory and reconciliation

Temida ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 117-133
Author(s):  
Vesna Nikolic-Ristanovic ◽  
Una Radovanovic ◽  
Milica Popovic
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Collective Memory ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
The Past ◽  
People First

The aim of this paper is the presentation and analysis of the data collection methodology and content of the first volume of the Kosovo Memory Book 1998-2000, as an example of collecting and displaying data of war victimisation from the territory of the former Yugoslavia. Analysis of the Kosovo Memory Book is done in the context of so far development of methodology of data collection about war casualities, with examination of effects that data presented in the book may have on both victims and restoring of broken relationships among people. First, it provides an overview of the methodology used and data obtained, and then the methodology and data, as well as images of conflicts that established data provide and their consequences are discussed and analyzed.

scholarly journals Abazi, Enika, and Albert Doja (2017) "The past in the present: time and narrative of Balkan wars in media industry and international politics." Third World Quarterly, 38 (4), pp. 1012-1042

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enika Abazi ◽  
Albert Doja
Keyword(s):  
Collective Memory ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Third World ◽  
Media Industry ◽  
Southeast Europe ◽  
Historical Knowledge ◽  
The Past ◽  
Balkan Wars ◽  
Truth Claims ◽  
Narrative Patterns

In this article, we explore various forms of travel writing, media reporting, diplomatic record, policy-making, truth claims and expert accounts in which different narrative perspectives on the Balkan wars, both old (1912–1913) and new (1991–1999), have been most evident. We argue that the ways in which these perspectives are rooted in different temporalities and historicisations have resulted in the construction of commonplace and time-worn representations. In practical terms, we take issue with several patterns of narratives that have led to the sensationalism of media industry and the essentialisation of collective memory. Taken together as a common feature of contemporary policy and analysis in the dominant international opinion, politics and scholarship, these narrative patterns show that historical knowledge is conveyed in ways that make present and represent the accounts of another past, and the ways in which beliefs collectively held by actors in international society are constructed as media events and public hegemonic representations. The aim is to show how certain moments of rupture are historicised, and subsequently used and misused to construct an anachronistic representation of Southeast Europe.

scholarly journals MODAL AWAL MENGEMBANGKAN WISATA DESA: PENGETAHUAN KESEJARAHAN, PERSEPSI, DAN PARTISIPASI MASYARAKAT PADA SITUS PETILASAN GADJAH MADA DI DESA LAMBANG KUNING

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 165
Author(s):  
Samidi M Baskoro ◽  
Sarkawi B Husain ◽  
Ikhsan Rosyid Mujahidul Anwari
Keyword(s):  
Collective Memory ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Ordinary People ◽  
Heritage Sites ◽  
The Past ◽  
Historical Objects ◽  
Historical Heritage ◽  
Historical Sites ◽  
Economic Motives ◽  
Depth Interviews

The past is present today through cultural heritage (historical heritage sites), but some ordinary people do not know the importance of the value of these objects, as evidenced by the trade in fragments of artifacts. This action is driven by economic motives and has no knowledge of historical objects. The main problem is how to build knowledge and awareness of historical heritage objects? The answer to this problem can be the elements used as initial capital to develop village tourism. The main value of the development of village tourism is the creation of public spaces where people can relax and gather at leisure. The development of village tourism should not be driven by economic motives that are often echoed by various parties. The methods used to elaborate are observation, in-depth interviews to find collective memory, and counseling or workshops. The findings obtained from observations, interviews, and literature studies are the use of historical sites as a destination for village tourism must be supported by the prerequisites for development, namely the knowledge of local communities on the site will foster awareness of historical heritage, uniformity of perception about the function of the site not for religious purposes, and participation community in site preservation.abstrakMasa lalu adalah masa kini yang hadir melalui warisan budaya (situs peninggalan sejarah), tetapi sebagian masyarakat awam tidak mengetahui pentingnya nilai benda-benda ini, terbukti dari adanya perdagangan serpihan artefak. Tindakan ini didorong oleh motif ekonomi dan tidak memiliki pengetahuan pada benda-benda sejarah. Pokok permasalahan adalah bagaimana upaya membangun pengetahuan dan kesadaran pada benda-benda peninggalan sejarah? Jawaban persoalan ini dapat menjadi unsur-unsur yang digunakan sebagai modal awal mengembangkan wisata desa. Nilai pokok pengembangan wisata desa adalah penciptaan ruang publik tempat bersantai dan berkumpul bagi anggota masyarakat setempat pada waktu senggang. Pengembangan wisata desa tidak harus didorong oleh motif ekonomi yang seringkali digaungkan oleh berbagai pihak. Metode yang digunakan untuk menguraikan adalah observasi, wawancara mendalam untuk menemukan memori kolektif, dan penyuluhan atau workshop. Temuan yang diperoleh dari observasi, wawancara, dan studi literatur adalah pemanfaatan situs sejarah sebagai destiasi wisata desa harus didukung oleh prasyarat pengembangan, yakni pengetahuan masyarakat lokal pada situs akan menumbuhkan kesadaran pada peninggalan sejarah, penyeragaman persepsi mengenai fungsi situs bukan untuk kepentingan religi, dan partisipasi masyarakat dalam pelestarian situs.

scholarly journals Rola języka w uwalnianiu się z dziedzicznych traum

Politeja ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2(65)) ◽  
pp. 189-204
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Marcol
Keyword(s):  
Collective Memory ◽  
Cultural Memory ◽  
Social Position ◽  
Traumatic Experiences ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The Village

The Role of Language in Releasing from Inherited Traumas. Negotiations of the Social Position of the Silesian Minority in Serbian Banat The aim of the paper is to show the dependence between language, collective memory (also post-memory) and sense of identity. This issue is analysed using the example of an ethnic minority living in the village of Ostojićevo (Banat, Serbia) called ‘Toutowie.’ Their ancestors came in the 19th century from Wisła (Silesian Cieszyn, Poland); they left their homes because of great hunger and were looking for jobs in Banat. Narratives about the past contain traumatic experiences of the past generations transmitted in the Silesian dialect and constituting communicative memory. At the same time, a new Polish national identity is being constructed, supported by institutions and authorities; it carries a new image of the world and creates a new cultural memory. This new identity – shaped on the basis of national categories – leads to changes of its self-identification and gives the opportunity to raise its social position in the multi-ethnic Banat community.

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