The Misleading Metaphor of Memory

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter provides an overview of the literature on the concept of collective memory. I argue that the strong organicist connotations of the word “memory” mean that the concept of collective memory often obscures more about the social world than it reveals. For this reason, I argue that we should be very careful when we use the term “memory” to specify whether we talk about the individual mind or about the social realm. I conclude by highlighting the relationship between memory and identity, and by extending my conceptual framework to the transnational level of analysis.KeywordsCollective memoryMythMythscapeRemembranceTransnational memory