Memory, history and the claims of the past

Bibliographic Data

ID7097997
AuthorsRoss Poole (New School for Social Research, New York, USA,, corresponding author)
Year2008
Volume1
Issue2
Pages149-166
Publication date2008-04-08
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMemory Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1750-6980 • E-ISSN: 1750-6999
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1750698007088383
OpenAlexW1987608986
LanguageEN
Citations received49
References cited26

This article presents an account of collective memory which explains its relationship to individual memory on the one hand and to history on the other. It argues that the role of memory, both individual and collective, is not merely cognitive; it is also normative. That is, memory does not simply transmit information from the past to the present; it also transmits responsibilities. Insofar as collective memory has a cognitive aspect, it makes claims about the past. These may be confirmed or disconfirmed by historical research. This does not mean that collective memory is just bad history. It is more like history written in the first person, and its role is to inform the present generation of its responsibilities to the past

Autobiographical memory · Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Cognitive science · Collective memory · Epistemology · Historical memory · Normative · Political science · Recall · Sociology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Hermeneutics and Narrative Identity · History · Law · Philosophy · Political Theology and Sovereignty · Psychology

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