Re-Collection: A Proposal for Refining the Study of Collective Memory and its Places

Abstract

This article outlines a theory of re-collection as a means of enhancing and enriching the study of collective memory. Re-collection seeks to generate insights into two underdeveloped threads of collective memory research: (a) its processual and dynamic nature and (b) its largely emplaced character. In particular, this article argues that places of memory are not finished texts, but sites of re-collection in which individuals and groups selectively cull and organize re-collected versions of the past. Grounded in Michael McGee’s concept of rhetorical fragments, the theory of re-collection involves attending to discursive fragments of memory that circulate within and around the memory site—as well as the fragments brought to the site by individuals and collectives. Re-collection thus requires analytical tools beyond those traditionally used in rhetorical criticism—as is illustrated in a case study proposal for exploring the process of re-collection surrounding the Space Window in Washington National Cathedral.