States of Memory
Continuities, Conflicts, and Transformations in National Retrospection
Jeffrey K. Olick, Julia Adams, George Steinmetz, Jeffrey K. Olick
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States of Memory
Continuities, Conflicts, and Transformations in National Retrospection
Jeffrey K. Olick, Julia Adams, George Steinmetz, Jeffrey K. Olick
About This Book
States of Memory illuminates the construction of national memory from a comparative perspective. The essays collected here emphasize that memory itself has a history: not only do particular meanings change, but the very faculty of memoryâits place in social relations and the forms it takesâvaries over time. Integrating theories of memory and nationalism with case studies, these essays stake a vital middle ground between particular and universal approaches to social memory studies.
The contributorsâincluding historians and social scientistsâdescribe societies' struggles to produce and then use ideas of what a "normal" past should look like. They examine claims about the genuineness of revolution (in fascist Italy and communist Russia), of inclusiveness (in the United States and Australia), of innocence (in Germany), and of inevitability (in Israel). Essayists explore the reputation of Confucius among Maoist leaders during China's Cultural Revolution; commemorations of Martin Luther King Jr. in the United States Congress; the "end" of the postwar era in Japan; and how national calendarsâin signifying what to remember, celebrate, and mournâstructure national identification. Above all, these essays reveal that memory is never unitary, no matter how hard various powers strive to make it so.
States of Memory will appeal to those scholars-in sociology, history, political science, cultural studies, anthropology, and art history-who are interested in collective memory, commemoration, nationalism, and state formation.
Contributors. Paloma Aguilar, Frederick C. Corney, Carol Gluck, Matt K. Matsuda, Jeffrey K. Olick, Francesca Polletta, Uri Ram, Barry Schwartz, Lyn Spillman, Charles Tilly, Simonetta Falasca Zamponi, Eviatar Zerubavel, Tong Zhang