Memory in Culture

by Astrid Erll

Memory in Culture is an introduction to one of the most exciting new interdisciplinary fields of research: cultural memory studies. Who was Maurice Halbwachs, and what are the "social frameworks of memory"? What can Aby Warburg's work tell us about the "memory of art"? How do Pierre Nora's lieux de mémoire connect history and memory? Where does the ancient art of memory meet the neurosciences? How do media shape our most personal memories? And can remembrance become globalized? Memory in Culture addresses these and many other questions about the socio-cultural dimensions of remembering, offering a unique overview of the history and theory of memory studies. With the concise presentation of key concepts from history, sociology, political sciences, anthropology, psychology, literary, art and media studies, it documents current international and interdisciplinary memory research in an unprecedented way.

Genres: Theory, Nonfiction, Academic, Reference

218 pages, Paperback

First published August 2, 2011

Reviews

[Greta]

Kokio gerumo įvadas į atminties studijas, kokio gerumo! Taip tiksliai, trumpai, aiškiai – viliuosi kad ir mano akademinės rašliavos kada nors tokios bus.

[Meri Meri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is excellent, concise, informative and a very well-written overview of Cultural Memory Studies that would appeal to anyone interested in the subject. Erll is an insightful intellectual historian, an attentive reader and a very fine theoretician herself. Highly recommended.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clearly written, thought-provoking, and informative. Erll offers a thorough view of memory studies in sociology, from Halbwachs up to the present. Most interesting to me, she describes how the changes in media technology have increased interest in collective memory studies, “The Internet has rapidly become a kind of global mega-archive…Choosing and appropriating that which is worth remembering, however, becomes even more difficult in the face of the sheer mass of digital information” (p. 5).

[Jessie Huang · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read before you start your own research

In terms of cultural memories I have pieces of different studies from different places. This book assembles all the pieces and put them in clear order that we can follow from the historical developments and possible future trends. Very helpful for people who want to do research in this field.

[Elena Varg]

I won’t be rating this book, as it was mandatory reading for my ”culture studies in theory” university course and I’m 100% sure my reading experience colored my opinion on the book itself. I bet it’s a comprehensive and great book on memory studies but I’m not having a good time on this course lol.

[Alexander Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a survey of "memory studies" as a cultural theoretical subject, this is a good survey. As an in-depth theoretical outline that clarifies concepts or approaches to memory, not so much. The way forward for memory studies is muddy at best if we take this book to be the state of things.

[Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

No entra en profundidad en ningún concepto, pero está muy bien como mapa para navegar por los memory studies.