The Past is Never Dead. Introduction to American Public Memory

elective courses

Classroom

The course offers a look at American public memory from the perspective of cultural sociology. It presents memory as a complex socio-cultural construct, and disputes over interpretations of the past as disputes over important issues concerning the present and future of the United States, dressed in a historical costume. During the course, students will be introduced to theories from the field of memory studies and then apply them to the interpretation of debates about the past of the United States, as well as the various carriers of memory present in the American public sphere. The class is taught in English.

The aim of the course is to explore the dynamic interplay between history, culture, and collective memory in the construction of public narratives in the USA. Drawing on key theories, concepts and debates in the field of memory studies, the course offers insights into the mechanism and circumstances under which the American people continue to reimagine their past. Students will critically reflect on how different carriers of public memory – e.g., monuments and memorials, museums, historical reenactments, archives and oral history collections – shape as well as reflect the American national identity. What historical figures and events are remembered, and what are forgotten or contested in the public sphere? The course also takes a close look at the contemporary processes of “de-commemoration” and the global social movement to remove monuments to white supremacy and colonialism.

Anderson, Benedict. “Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism”.

Anthias, Floya, Yuval-Davis, Nira. “Women-Nation-State”.

Assmann, Jan. “Cultural Memory and Early Civilization: Writing, Remembrance, and Political Imagination”.

Benton-Short, Lisa. “The National Mall: No Ordinary Public Space”.

Bodnar, John. “Remaking America: Public Memory, Commemoration, and Patriotism in the Twentieth Century”.

Boym, Svetlana. “The Future of Nostalgia”

Cameron, Duncan, F. “The Museum, a Temple or the Forum”.

Davis, Fred. “Yearning for Yesterday: A Sociology of Nostalgia”

Doss, Erica. “Memorial Mania: Public Feeling in America”.

Elshtain, Jean. “Women and War”.

Gensburger, Sarah, Wüstenberg, Jenny “De-Commemoration: Removing Statues and Renaming Places”.

Gillis, John (red.) “Commemorations: The Politics of National Identity”.

Gutman, Yifat, Wüstenberg, Jenny (red.) “The Routledge Handbook of Memory Activism”.

Halbwachs, Maurice. “On Collective Memory”.

Hobsbawm, Eric. “The Invention of Tradition”.

Nagel, Joane. “Masculinity and Nationalism: Gender and Sexuality in the Making of Nations.

Olick, Jeffrey, Vinitzky-Seroussi, Vered, Levy Daniel (red.) “The Collective Memory Reader”.

Piehler, G., Kurt. “Remembering War the American Way”.

Rozas-Krause Valentina, Shanken Andrew. “Breaking the Bronze Ceiling: Women, Memory, and Public Space”.

Savage, Kirk. “Monument Wars: Washington D.C., the National Mall, and the Transformation of the Memorial Landscape”.

Simko, Christina. “The Politics of Consolation: Memory and the Meaning of September 11”.

Sodaro, Amy. “Affect, Performativity and Politics in the 9/11 Museum”

Strauss, Jill. “Contested Site or Reclaimed Space? Re-membering but Not Honoring the Past on the Empty Pedestal”.

Wagner-Pacifici Robin, Schwartz, Barry. “Vietnam Veterans Memorial: Commemorating a Difficult Past”.

Whitehead, Anne. “Memory (The New Critical Idiom)”.

Williams, Paul. “Memorial Museums”

Wills, Garry. “Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade America”.

Winter, Jay. “Sites of Memory, Sites of Mourning: The Great War in European Cultural History”.

Knowledge:

* Student is familiar with basic theories and concepts in the field of memory studies. They refer to those theories and concepts in discussion, creating their own oral and written statements.

* Can identify and characterize key events, figures, and cultural texts for the United States.

* Is familiar with a variety of commemorative practices and carriers of collective memory in the United States. Can identify the main debates and disputes about who/what and how to commemorate in American public space.

Skills:

* Student can describe the social functions of collective memory and the mechanisms of its creation and reception. In addition, they can identify and characterize the various manifestations of collective memory present in American public sphere.

* Independently interprets issues related to American collective memory, placing them in relevant socio-cultural contexts, as well as pointing out their connections to contemporary debates on American collective identity, the role of the United States in the world, etc.

* Independently formulates research problems and presents possible ways to solve them.

* Critically and thoughtfully engages with research studies and texts in the field of memory studies.

Competencies:

* Student actively participates in the discussion, formulates and justifies their own theses as well as refers to the theses of other participants in the discussion.

* Is a committed participant of the project team and is able to organize and direct its work.

* Collects, analyzes and interprets data, as well as presents it in the form of a report/multimedia presentation.

* Becomes a more critical recipient/consumer of collective memory, aware of its functions and mechanisms of influence.

Attendence and active participation (2 absences allowed) - 30%

Midtem exam -30%

Research project report - 40%