(Induced) Forgetting to form a collective memory

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 314-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles B Stone ◽  
William Hirst

How communities forge collective memories has been a topic of long-standing interest among social scientists and, more recently, psychologists. However, researchers have typically focused on how what is overtly remembered becomes collectively remembered. Recently, though, Stone and colleagues have delineated different types of silence and their influence on how individuals and groups remember the past, what they termed, mnemonic silence. Here we focus on the importance of relatedness in understanding the mnemonic consequences of public silence. We begin by describing two common means of investigating collective memories: the social construction approach and the psychological approach. We subsequently discuss in detail a psychological paradigm, retrieval-induced forgetting, and demonstrate how this initially individual memory paradigm can and has been extended to social contexts in the form of public silence and may provide insights into larger sociological phenomenon, in our case, collective memories. We conclude by discussing avenues of future research and the benefits of including a psychological perspective in the field of collective memory.

2013 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 152-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irena Šutinienė

Santrauka. Straipsnyje, remiantis kiekybinio sociologinio tyrimo duomenimis, analizuojamos sovietinio laikotarpio interpretacijos Lietuvos gyventojų kolektyvinėje atmintyje. Analizuojant gyventojų atmintyje vyraujančių požiūrių į sovietmetį spektrą, siekiama parodyti šių požiūrių ambivalentiškumą: atskirdami ir neigiamai vertindami politinius buvusios sovietinės sistemos aspektus, žmonės tuo pat metu teigiamai prisimena ir vertina kai kuriuos sovietmečio kasdienybės reiškinius, traktuodami juos kaip „nepolitinius“. Požiūrių į sovietmetį ryšiai su dabarties kontekstais – demokratizacijos rezultatų vertinimais ir socialiniais-demografiniais kontekstais – atskleidžia, kad požiūrius į sovietmetį dideliu laipsniu lemia žmonių amžius, taip pat teigiami (tarp jų ir nostalgiški) požiūriai į sovietmetį iš dalies susiję su socialiniais-ekonominiais ir subjektyviais marginalizacijos kontekstais. Ryšių su socialiniais dabarties kontekstais ir požiūriais į dabartį silpnumas rodo, kad sovietmečio atmintis yra tik dalinai nostalgiška ir galimai yra susijusi su daugeliu konkrečių, tarp jų individualių kontekstų.Pagrindinės sąvokos: sovietmetis, kolektyvinė atmintis, nostalgija.Key words: Soviet era, collective memory, nostalgia.ABSTRACT THE MEMORIES OF SOVIET ERA IN CONTEMPORARY LITHUANIA: AMBIVALENCE OR NOSTALGIA?The collective memories of Soviet era of Lithuanian adult population are analysed in the article. The analysis is based on the data of representative sociological survey, conducted by company „Baltijos tyrimai“ in 2012. The analysis reveals the ambivalence of the memories of Soviet era prevailing in popular memory: people express positive attitudes towards many aspects the Soviet era everyday life and simultaneously evaluate negatively political aspects of the Soviet regime. The Soviet era everyday is presented in people‘s memories as „apolitical“ and separated from political domain. The connections between attitudes towards Soviet past and contemporary contexts (attitudes towards the outcomes of democratization and indicators of social and economical position) reveal, that the memories of Soviet era are structured by generations in a great degree; there are also slight relations between positive (and nostalgic) memories of Soviet past and the social contexts of marginalization as well as feelings of marginalization. The slight relations of the memories of Soviet era to the contemporary social contexts and attitudes towards outcomes of democratization indicate, that positive memories of Soviet past are only partly nostalgic and are influenced by many other, among them individual, factors.Pastaba. Straipsnis parengtas vykdant Lietuvos mokslo tarybos finansuojamą projektą „Demokratizacijos procesų Lietuvoje reprezentacijos individualioje sąmonėje“, sutartis Nr. SIN-03/2012


Publications ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Jane Curry ◽  
Theresa Lillis

In the past three decades, a body of research on issues related to multilingual scholars writing for publication has emerged, paralleling the rise of pressures on scholars around the world to publish their work in high-status journals, especially those included in particular journal citation indexes; these indexes typically privilege the use of English. Researchers have investigated multilingual scholars’ experiences and perspectives, the social contexts of their work, policies on research publishing, aspects of the texts produced by multilingual scholars, the kinds of people scholars interact with while working to publish their research, their collaborations and networks, and pedagogical initiatives to support their publishing efforts. Nevertheless, as ongoing research is conducted, the existing research base has not always been consulted in meaningful ways. In this paper, we draw on the notion of ‘lore’ to identify some of the preconceptions or received wisdom about multilingual scholars and their writing that seem to be circulating, then argue for researchers to move beyond the ‘lore’ and make greater use of both findings from empirical research and related theoretical and methodological conversations. We identify directions for future research to be conducted.


Author(s):  
Mats Alvesson ◽  
Yiannis Gabriel ◽  
Roland Paulsen

This chapter introduces ‘the problem’ of meaningless research in the social sciences. Over the past twenty years there has been an enormous growth in research publications, but never before in the history of humanity have so many social scientists written so much to so little effect. Academic research in the social sciences is often inward looking, addressed to small tribes of fellow researchers, and its purpose in what is increasingly a game is that of getting published in a prestigious journal. A wide gap has emerged between the esoteric concerns of social science researchers and the pressing issues facing today’s societies. The chapter critiques the inaccessibility of the language used by academic researchers, and the formulaic qualities of most research papers, fostered by the demands of the publishing game. It calls for a radical move from research for the sake of publishing to research that has something meaningful to say.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 9813 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuta Uchiyama ◽  
Eduardo Blanco ◽  
Ryo Kohsaka

Application of biomimetics has expanded progressively to other fields in recent years, including urban and architectural design, scaling up from materials to a larger scale. Besides its contribution to design and functionality through a long evolutionary process, the philosophy of biomimetics contributes to a sustainable society at the conceptual level. The aim of this review is to shed light on trends in the application of biomimetics to architectural and urban design, in order to identify potential issues and successes resulting from implementation. In the application of biomimetics to architectural design, parts of individual “organisms”, including their form and surface structure, are frequently mimicked, whereas in urban design, on a larger scale, biomimetics is applied to mimic whole ecosystems. The overall trends of the reviewed research indicate future research necessity in the field of on biomimetic application in architectural and urban design, including Biophilia and Material. As for the scale of the applications, the urban-scale research is limited and it is a promising research which can facilitate the social implementation of biomimetics. As for facilitating methods of applications, it is instrumental to utilize different types of knowledge, such as traditional knowledge, and providing scientific clarification of functions and systems based on reviews. Thus, interdisciplinary research is required additionally to reach such goals.


1988 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Nicholson

The Economic and Social Research Council recently published a Report commissioned from a committee chaired by Professor Edwards, a psychiatrist, so that the Council, and the social science community in general, might know what was good and bad in British social sciences, and where the promising future research opportunities lie over the next decade. Boldly called ‘Horizons and Opportunities in the Social Sciences’, the Report condensed the wisdom of social scientists, both British and foreign, and concludes with a broadly but not uncritically favourable picture of the British scene.


1994 ◽  
Vol 19 (04) ◽  
pp. 829-852 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Frohmann ◽  
Elizabeth Mertz

As scholars and activists have addressed the problem of violence against women in the past 25 years, their efforts have increasingly attuned us to the multiple dimensions of the issue. Early activists hoped to change the structure of power relations in our society, as well as the political ideology that tolerated violence against women, through legislation, education, direct action, and direct services. This activism resulted in a plethora of changes to the legal codes and protocols relating to rape and battering. Today, social scientists and legal scholars are evaluating the effects of these reforms, questioning anew the ability of law by itself to redress societal inequalities. As they uncover the limitations of legal reforms enacted in the past two decades, scholars are turning—or returning—to ask about the social and cultural contexts within which laws are formulated, enforced, and interpreted.


Politeja ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2(65)) ◽  
pp. 189-204
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Marcol

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.


Author(s):  
Sarina Bakić

The author will emphasize the importance of both the existence and the further development of the Srebrenica - Potočari Memorial Center, in the context of the continued need to understand the genocide that took place in and around Srebrenica, from the aspect of building a culture of remembrance throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). This is necessary in order to continue fighting the ongoing genocide denial. At first glance, a culture of remembrance presupposes immobility and focus on the past to some, but it is essentially dynamic, and connects three temporal dimensions: it evokes the present, refers to the past but always deliberates over the future. In this paper, the emphasis is placed on the concept of the place of remembrance, the lieu de memoire as introduced by the historian Pierre Nora. In this sense, a place of remembrance such as the Srebrenica - Potočari Memorial Center is an expression of a process in which people are no longer just immersed in their past but read and analyze it in the present. Furthermore, looking to the future, they also become mediators of relations between people and communities, which in sociological theory is an important issue of social relations. The author of this paper emphasizes that collective memory in the specific case of genocide in and around Srebrenica is only possible when the social relations around the building (Srebrenica - Potočari Memorial Center) crystallize, which is then much more than just the content of the culture of remembrance.


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 55
Author(s):  
Nandang Rusnandar

Uga merupakan salah satu tradisi lisan masyarakat Sunda, di dalamnya terkumpul segenap memori kolektif. Analisis terhadap uga meliputi nilai-nilai dalam bentuk simbol yang tersirat di dalamnya. Uga mampu meramalkan perubahan sosial sesuai dengan zamannya. Apabila dilihat dari orientasi waktu, uga dapat  menunjukkan: (1) tercipta dan dituturkan pada masa lampau; (2) dituturkan pada masa lampau dan terjadi pada waktu lalu; (3) dituturkan pada masa lampau dan sekarang (sedang terjadi); (4) dituturkan pada masa lampau, ramalan untuk masa yang akan datang. Fungsi uga di samping memprediksi ia juga harus dijadikan sebagai alat antisipasi tentang sesuatu yang bakal terjadi di waktu yang akan datang.Abstract:Uga is one of Sundanese oral tradition containing most collective memory. Analysis of the Uga includes the values in the form of symbols that implied in it. It  is able to predict social change in accordance with its time when viewed from the orientation of time. It  can  show that (1) it could be created and spoken in the past; (2) it was spoken and taken place in the past;(3) it was spoken in the past and is still being used now; (4)  it was spoken in the past and predictions for the future. Besides its functions to predict the social change, it  can serve as a tool in anticipation of something that might happen in the future.


2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 121-141
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Tarkowska

One of the most substantial interdisciplinary topics in the study of contemporary culture is change in social time, which is expressed in the compression of time (and space) and changing relationships between the past, present, and future. Research and analysis situate the present in an exceptional position in contemporary culture, providing us with the term ‘culture of the present.’ At the same time, however, we are dealing with a phenomenon labeled the ‘explosion of memory’—an astounding multidirectional and multifaceted rise in interest in the past. It is therefore worthwhile to investigate the structures and mechanisms of collective memory, as well as how the past is defined in contemporary culture, from the perspective of time as a social and cultural phenomenon. Questions should be asked regarding the mechanisms that unite the dominance of the present in culture with a rising interest in the past. The perspective of social time reveals that the ‘culture of the present,’ the current dominating forms of memory intensification, and the heightened awareness of the past, are influenced by the same or similar factors. These include new media and communication technologies, as well as consumption and popular culture, which change the structure of time, condense the time horizon, alter the manner in which the past is experienced, and modify the mechanisms of collective memory.


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