Modes of historical memory: from Hegemonism to agonism

Abstract

The article substantiates an agonistic approach to the historical memory of society, in which the latter is not a single hegemonic narrative, but a set of competing versions of the past. According to the author, the relevance of the agonistic regime of memory is connected with the fact that in the modern world the factor of mass migrations, the struggle for recognition by ethnic, racial and other minorities, the activation of regional identities introduces new mnemotic actors into the public space, challenging the established historical "canon". At the same time, an attempt to suppress counter-narratives usually causes the phenomenon of "mnemotic resistance", and therefore cannot be considered as a productive strategy. The agonistic approach to the politics of memory makes us evaluate resonant events around the Black Lives Matter movement in a different way, disputes over the concept of historical education, demands for renaming streets and squares, demolition of monuments, changes in memorable dates and holidays. The "rewriting of history" turns out not to be an existential threat to the national community, but a natural process of the nation's revision of ideas about itself. At the same time, it is fundamentally important that memorial conflicts take place within a common symbolic space, and discussions are held about the national past. This is the only way a truly inclusive version of historical memory can arise.