Cultural Memory Research Articles

Invisible Archives: Makedonka – Organ of the WAF (1944- 1952), Historical Experiences and Cultural Memory

Review of the collective volume “Invisible Archives: Makedonka – Organ of the WAF (1944–1952), historical experiences and cultural memory”, published by the Centre for Research of Nationalism and Culture (CINIK), Skopie, Republic of North Macedonia, 2022. ISBN 978-608-66464-7-9.

The influence of Hasidism in the poetic oeuvre of Szilárd Borbély

AbstractThe paper examines the influence of the literature of Hasidism on the oeuvre of contemporary Hungarian poet Szilárd Borbély (1963–1914). It analyzes the workings of regional cultural memory and the memory of the exterminated rural Jewish population, as well as of the former representatives of Hasidism in Hungary in Borbély's works. It also examines the poetics of his collection of poems Funereal Splendour and, more specifically, the fusion of Christian and Jewish elements, in which the principle of bricolage prevails, creating a specific, culturally hybrid poetic language. The most important example of this hybridization is the appearance of the messianic motif in the oeuvre, to which this study devotes special attention. Finally, the use of a Hasidic story-type in two of Borbély's works is also discussed.

Textbooks, hunger, and humanitarian narratives: representations of U.S. food policies to Germany on a regional scale (1949–89)

AbstractThis article investigates the significance of United States (U.S.) post-WWII food aid to Germany in West German textbooks from a regional angle during the Cold War period. Previous studies have predominantly focused on interpreting the significance of U.S. aid in West Germany from a national standpoint, overlooking regional variations in humanitarian narratives. This study challenges the national scale as the exclusive basis of collective meaning. By exploring educational materials from three different German regions—Berlin, Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia, it examines the different afterlives of U.S. aid in West German humanitarian narratives. Further attention for nuances in reconstructing humanitarian narratives not only does justice to the distinct regional histories and memory cultures, but also gives scope to reassessments of dominant narratives.

The Meaning of Zhousong: The Zhous Propaganda and Tradition

Abstract: Zhousong (, the Hymns of the Zhou) is an important part of Shijing, with 31 poems in the compilation, and these poems were played in the Zhous ancestral temple for ritual purposes. The character Song () has a structure that can be interpreted as a man praising with a gesture of respect, so it has acquired the meaning of countenance. Thats why Zhousong means the countenance of the Zhou. The kings of the Zhou used Zhousong as propaganda that magnified the virtue of themselves, for they claimed to receive mandate from High Heaven because of their virtues. That propaganda not only played an important role in the Zhous rule, but also gradually became a tradition in Chinese culture after the Zhou Dynasty with the transmission and re-interpretations of Zhousong. Thus, Zhousong, which can be regarded as a part of Cultural Memory of China, has left a profound impact on Chinese civilization. How people interpret Zhousong and the historical studies of Zhousong today is related to the understanding of Chinese civilization.

Towards a history of parliamentary culture in the early modern world: concept, geopolitical scope, and method

ABSTRACT This article proposes an innovative approach to early modern representative institutions, from the later fifteenth century to the early eighteenth. It argues that only a transnational, interdisciplinary, and comparative study of such bodies can reveal their shared culture and prominence in contemporary political discourse, public memory, and cultural production. Central to this new approach is the concept of ‘parliamentary culture’, which sees representative assemblies as collective constructs and embodiments of a political community, and encompasses the transnational tradition of customs, ideas, and cultural expressions associated with them. The article aims to: (1) sketch out the institutional, geopolitical, and historical scope of our enquiry; (2) define parliamentary culture as a collection of practices of legitimation, negotiation, and debate in political assembly that are central to the life of a community; and (3) demonstrate that the distinctive institutional cultures of representative assemblies were an essential component of the public life and political thought of early modern countries; and that there was a common culture of representative assembly shared and recognized throughout Europe which was variously transplanted to and adapted in the overseas territories of the Iberian, Anglo-British, and Dutch empires, often through interaction with Indigenous traditions of assembly. The underlying argument is that only by looking at early modern representative bodies in this way can we appreciate the vitality and significance of this type of political organization.

Between paternalism and colonialism: Czechs and Slovaks from the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century

The study focuses on the postcolonial analysis of the development of mutual Czech-Slovak relations from the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century. The core of the analysis are specific literary representations of these mutual relationships based on the textual corpus of Czech and Slovak literature. In the broader public discourse of Central European literature, Czech-Slovak relations are only rarely analysed using postcolonial criticism. In the field of literary science, this is an unexplored area of Czech-Slovak relations. The contribution therefore seeks to complement postcolonial research on the material of Czech and Slovak non-fiction texts, as well as neglected novels. It focuses on the postcolonial analysis of literary representations of mutual Czech-Slovak relations, which developed between paternalism and colonialism in the observed period. The critical reading of these literary representations is based on the description of power relations identifiable through more or less conspicuous features of superiority and subordination, which are relevant to interpret through postcolonial theories. The author of the paper is aware of the specifics and differences of power relations between small cultures in the Central European area compared to the analysis of relations between a large empire and a politically subordinate colonial culture. For this reason, he expands the repertoire of terminology from postcolonial criticism (Homi H. Bhabha and Edward W. Said) and uses not only the basic terms colonialism and Orientalism, but also other terms to define the diverse scale of the power relationship of the Czechs to Slovak culture, e.g. paternalism (to introduce the Czech figure of the elder brother), pre-colonialism (to introduce the Czech figure of the savior) and anticolonialism (to introduce the Czech figure of the Slovaks as victims). Using postcolonial terminology, the study approaches specific literary figures that have become part of Czech thinking about Slovak culture. The situation of Slovak culture in the observed period can be interpreted through Kiossev’s metaphor of self-colonization, which reflects the positive reception of the cultural and educational mission of the Czechs in Slovakia. The used corpus of texts from Czech and Slovak literature and its analysis served as a starting point for understanding cultural stereotypes and literary representations of nascent national identities. Czech colonialism developed in the political, cultural and linguistic framework, first as a recognition of Slovakia by Czech slovakophiles, after 1918 it was already part of the discussion in the public space. All these period attitudes of the Czechs towards Slovakia were prescribed in literary texts of a fictional and non-fictional nature and as part of the Czech cultural memory they filled the Czech cultural myth about Slovakia.

Double Diaspora and Transgenerational Memory in Nikesh Shukla’s The One Who Wrote Destiny

This article offers a focused exploration of Nikesh Shukla's The One Who Wrote Destiny (2018), delving into the challenges and complexities of the 'double diaspora' experienced by British South Asian characters in the UK. Situated at the intersection of literary analysis and sociocultural studies, the study addresses the novel’s thematic core, emphasizing the lasting impact of racism and cultural displacement across multiple generations. Utilizing Jan Assmann's framework of 'communicative memory' and 'cultural memory,' alongside Maya Parmar's exploration of double diaspora, the study investigates the evolution of memory representation, highlighting the transformation from lived, embodied memory to mediated, cultural forms. Central to this research is the examination of double diaspora, as outlined by Parmar, exploring the migration of the Gujarati community from South Asia to East Africa and later to Britain, and the identity struggles arising from these dual displacements. Through this in-depth analysis, the article explores the intricate interplay between memory, generational shifts, and the unique challenges faced by twice-migrant communities. It provides valuable insights into the evolving nature of immigrant experiences, cultural identity, and belonging in the United Kingdom since the turn of the millennium. This analysis contributes to a broader understanding of how transgenerational memory and double diaspora influence cultural adaptation and identity formation within diasporic communities, reflecting wider sociocultural trends in contemporary Britain.

PRECEDENT NAMES AS TRANSMITTERS OF HISTORICAL AND COLLECTIVE MEMORY IN THE POEM “THE TIME IN BURSA” BY A. H. TANPINAR

This article explores the use of precedent names as carriers of historical and collective memory in A. H. Tanpınar's poem “The Time in Bursa.” Precedent names, being culturally significant proper nouns, evoke historical, cultural, and social connotations that resonate deeply within a collective consciousness. The study analyzes how these names serve as linguistic bridges between past and present, shaping a shared understanding of national identity and heritage in Tanpınar’s poetry. The analysis focuses on the poem's ability to transmit cultural memory through names associated with key historical events, figures, and places, thus linking personal memory with collective historical narratives. By exploring the poetic function of these precedent names, the article highlights Tanpınar’s contribution to preserving and enriching the cultural identity of Turkish society. Employing methods such as textual, intertextual, and historical-linguistic analysis, the research uncovers how Tanpınar’s use of precedent names fosters a dialogue between individual and national history, allowing readers to engage with the collective memory of their community. The study positions precedent names not merely as literary devices, but as pivotal elements in understanding the dynamics of memory and identity in Turkish poetry. This research aims to broaden the understanding of how names rooted in cultural and historical significance can function as powerful transmitters of collective memory, contributing to the formation of a cohesive national identity in literary texts.

Provincializing memory studies (again): Cosmopolitan, multidirectional, transcultural, and fugitive memories

This essay argues for the need of provincializing memory studies concepts of the third phase. Memory studies and postcolonial studies share several characteristics, such as their historical emergence, interdisciplinary foundation, and interest in knowledge production. I suggest that postcolonial critique may further enrich memory studies through Dipesh Chakrabarty’s concept of provincializing Europe, because it may help memory studies to confront a tendency to universalize and naturalize some of its concepts, including cosmopolitan, multidirectional, and transcultural memory. A critical historical analysis of these concepts demonstrates that they are not so much universal, as they produce margins and exclusions. Analyzing Tracey Sankar-Charleau and Jude Charleau’s Trinidad and Tobago Carnival performance Lady Solanaceae Ligahoo, I argue that it is important to move beyond universals to also consider cultural memories’ historical specificity. Otherwise, memory studies may risk neglecting countless fugitive memories on the margins of societies, cultures, and histories.

Analysis of the Myth on Western Aid to Lithuanian Partisans

There were many factors which affected the emergence of the statement on “western aid”: the Soviet propaganda, communist terror, Lithuanian partisans, Western radio stations, Western intelligence services and others. In order to understand how the hope to receive help from the West spread among partisans, the geopolitical and historical space of the time must be assessed from several perspectives – starting from the dynamics of international relations after WWII finishing with the mentality of freedom fighters and the factors that shaped the outlook of partisans as individuals. In the 1940s, five western radio stations could be received in the territory of Soviet Lithuania: Vatican Radio, BBC, Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. The British radio station BBC never had a Lithuanian language service and did not broadcast in Lithuanian, but partisans could listen to broadcasts in the Russian language. As testified by the partisan underground press and memoirs, the BBC was one of the main sources of objective information from the West. As the BBC had strict rules for its programmes, this broadcaster could not contribute to the dissemination of the myth regarding Western aid to the occupied countries. On 16 February 1951, the US Voice of America started broadcasting in the Lithuanian language. Due to its association with the Department of State Security, this radio station was treated by the Soviet Union as a tool of official US policy. Because of its late start in broadcasting in the Lithuanian language and dependence on the dynamics of the US–USSR relationship, the Voice of America could not have initiated the idea of Western aid to the partisans. The Soviet Union was most critical of the US radio stations Radio Liberty and Radio Free Europe, which started broadcasts in the Lithuanian language only in the early seventies, when the resistance struggle was long over and the strict radio rules and censorship did not allow these radio stations to contribute to the dissemination of the myth on Western aid. The belief of partisans that Lithuania would be freed, based on international documents (Freedom Charter) and the well-known geopolitical situation, could have determined the hope that soon the countries of the East and the West would be at war. The development of the Western aid myth, therefore, was formed by the model of historical consciousness of freedom fighters and the culture of historical memory. After WWII, people in Lithuania not only remembered the interwar period of Lithuanian independence, but many also participated in the armed defence of the state of Lithuania in 1918–1919. Participants of the independence struggle still remembered their own help to the re-established state, German volunteers, American legion of volunteers, and the 1941 June Uprising, which succeeded due to the outbreak of WWII. The memory of recent events was favourable for the emergence of the said beliefs of Lithuanian partisans. Historical images and ideas preserved in the memories of the people of that time influenced the collective consciousness and helped partisans to remain persuaded and contributed to their hope that in the event of war between former allies, Western countries would liberate Lithuania.

Sustainability of Oral History: A Case of SRK Pulo at Kampung Semarang

History is data regarding historical instances of human activity. This study anticipates the cultural memory around the primary school, SRK Pulo, which was relocated while retaining its previous name. One of the ancient Malay settlements along the Sarawak riverbank in Kuching is called Kampung Pulo. Questions are being asked about the SRK Pulo, its origin and other related histories to acknowledge. Further study, especially oral history inquiries, might help clear up any lingering questions regarding a historical truth or knowledge gap. For the benefit of future research, the cultural memory of intangible cultures needs to be preserved and documented through oral history research. To highlight historical local stories as the major focus in a qualitative manner, this study utilised Husserlism in Transcendental Phenomenology (TPh). The positive takeaways from oral history investigations into the genesis of SRK Pulo could serve as a guideline for the younger generation to respect and learn from the past to establish evocative living in the future. The sustainability of indigenous peoples in preserving their sociocultural ways of life and oral traditions depends on this study.

Revisiting Chinese Indonesian Violence in Indonesian Post-New Order Fiction

May 1998 saw one of the worst cases of racial violence in Indonesian history. During 13th to 15th May 1998, there were acts of expropriation, looting, arson and sexual assault targeting the Chinese community in Indonesia. Using two specimens of Indonesian post-New Order fiction, Sekuntum Nozomi 3 (SN3) by Marga Tjoa and Putri Cina (PC) by Sindhunata, this study investigates how cultural memories of the May 1998 Tragedy were shared with the post-event generation. The method employed is a qualitative narrative with a narratological approach. The results showed that literary works function as a medium for the spread of memory. Through SN3 and PC, the memory of violence against ethnic Chinese Indonesians between 12th and 15th May 1998 is transmitted, especially for the post-event generation who did not experience it firsthand. Despite the differing representation strategy, there was substantively one voice to be conveyed, namely that of “discrimination, violence and human rights violations” against Chinese Indonesians. Memories are institutionalised and distributed as part of the national memory in these works. Both works mediate the politics of cultural memory to memorialise the past “sins” of the Indonesian people. These literary works can be viewed as tools for minorities to articulate discrimination.

Resistance as (Re)creation

The paper analyzes creative aspect of resistance. Inspired by Ernesto Sabato’s book (2013) and Stéphane Hessel’s manifesto, we want to present some remarks on resistance as (re)creation from dialogical perspective, i.e. recreation of dialogical relation with oneself, with nature, with others and with spiritual beings. Firstly, following Sabato, we analyze resistance to vertigo as paramount disconnection caused by chaotic life that disintegrates every dialogical relationship. Secondly, we consider reclaiming time as a form of resistance and we present the slow movement as an act of resistance. Thirdly, we analyze analogies between two oppositions: stimulus vs. challenge and product vs. flower/fruit. Then we briefly refer to Reyes Mate’s project culture of memory as resistance to injustice and oblivion. In conclusions, we point out the role of analogy in dialogue and in resistance in art and protest.

Inventing a Language for Transnational Memory: An Interview with Sole Otero

ABSTRACT Based between Angoulême and Bariloche, Sole Otero is a published and increasingly translated comics author. Her award-winning graphic novel Naftalina (2020) intertwines the memories of four generations of women in a family which fled from fascist Italy to Argentina in the 1920s, with the coming-of-age of the author’s alter-ego, Rocío, in the South of Buenos Aires shaken by the 2001 crisis. The language created for Naftalina is a compelling example of the multilingualism of Italian memory within the transnational Italian comics scene. In this interview, Sole Otero speaks about exploring a constellation of family relations and blurring ideas of linear and realistic accounts of history, which allows the distinctive language and aesthetic of this comic book to emerge. The interview foregrounds Naftalina as a graphic novel that illuminates current developments of comics autobiography and storytelling, and more broadly the relationship between comics and memory cultures.

Postsocialism as a Crime

Abstract The decade of the 1990s has become a significant topic of cultural memory in postsocialist countries, including the Czech Republic. One of the most pervasive interpretive frames of this period of recent history, present across various media, is that of “crime.” This article argues that such a framing is supported by the police, an institution with considerable power to shape shared notions about the recent past. The interpretation of the first postsocialist decade as criminal in nature is demonstrated through the example of the Czech true-crime tv series Devadesátky (The Nineties, 2022). The Nineties is analyzed using three key concepts. “Plurimedial networks” help explain how the series became a powerful medium of memory. “Police memorialization” is used to show how the memory of postsocialism is constructed through the motif of crime from the perspective of the police and what its political implications are. “Police culture” provides a source for a critical reflection on police memory, revealing vested interests behind particular narrative representations of reality-based past events such as those depicted in The Nineties.

History Politics in Kosovo: Elites’ Memory and Victims’ Counter-Memory in Public Spaces of the De Facto State (Contradictions of Collective Memory and Memorial Culture)

The article examines the development of collective historical memory in Kosovo, a region with contested international political status. The study aims to analyze the memorial policies pursued by Kosovo’s regional political elites, which contribute to the consolidation of the region’s political identity. Additionally, the role and significance of history and perceptions of the past in the discourse shaped by the elites of modern Pristina are explored. Methodologically, the article draws on the interdisciplinary contributions of historiography, particularly the memorial turn, as well as studies that analyze nationalism as a factor in the evolution and transformation of memorial cultures. The novelty of the study lies in its examination of the current stage of historical policy development in Kosovo, a region that is striving for institutionalization and recognition as a nationstate. The article demonstrates that: 1) Kosovo's political elites actively leverage both the real and symbolic potential of collective memory, 2) the region’s historical policy and memorial culture are marked by a high degree of ideologization, and 3) nationalism plays a pivotal role in shaping the main vectors and trajectories of historical policy and memorial culture. The study suggests that the memory policies enacted by the elites tend to blend ethnic and civic Albanian nationalism, characterized by a high level of politicization and ideologization of history. This active use and instrumentalization of historical narratives in public and social spaces transforms collective memory into a tool for memorial confrontation and memory wars.

Contact zones, affects and noeuds de mémoire: Chinese laborers on the Western Front in Martine Laffon’s Souviens-toi de moi

This article argues that Souviens-toi de moi, a novel published in 2014 by French writer Martine Laffon, reclaims the memory of travailleurs chinois on the Western Front during the First World War, at the same time exposing the deliberate agenda of forgetting in both French and Chinese memory cultures. Referring to Mary Louise Pratt’s concept of contact zone and Leela Gandhi’s concept of affective cosmopolitanism, I show how the novel creates an inclusive ethics across race, gender and species, challenging the fixed hierarchies of Western modernity. Synchronously, by applying the multidirectional framework of noeuds de mémoire, the article demonstrates how Laffon constructs war remembrance at the conjunction of anti-militarism, anti-imperialism, feminism and the struggle for animal rights. The novel thus offers a vision of the First World War that radically departs from the French récit national and the Chinese instrumentalization of the laborers’ war memory.

English Nationalism and the Study of the History of Anglo-Saxon England

The author in the presented article analyses the features and directions of development of English academic historiography, focused on the history of England before 1066, as a form of political memory. It is assumed that UK political elites do not pursue memorial politics in its classical forms. Therefore, the author notes that the role of a similar historical policy in Europe and in England is played by academic historiography.The purpose of the study is to analyse the role, place and significance of research focused on the history of Anglo-Saxon England in the context of the development of memory policy and memorial culture. The novelty of the research lies in the study of academic historiography as a form of historical policy in a society where there are institutions of memory and memorial laws.The article shows that 1) Anglo-Saxon narratives in modern memorial culture have become a form of nationalist historical interaction, 2) actors and agents of English politics are both historians and the intellectual community in general, since the ruling elites distance themselves from participation in the politics of collective historical memory, 3) Anglo-Saxon narratives in the historical general began to show interest in English cultural nationalism, since its political forms and dimensions are undeveloped.It is suggested that academic historians in modern England have become both important and forced participants in the politics of history, nationalizing history before 1066, drawing attention to the significance of the past in modern identity.The article shows that modern English historiography in the field of memory and memorial culture actually plays the role of a political expert and agent who shapes and promotes ideas about the past, instrumentalizing history as a political resource.

Value orientations of youth and the formation of cultural memory in the region (On the example of the Chechen republic)

The article analyzes the characteristics of the Chechen youth, their value attitudes and roles in the formation of cultural memory. The methodological framework covers theoretical and methodological areas of research of two social phenomena that are important signs of the changing world at the beginning of this millennium: cultural memory and the attitude of the younger generation towards it. The analysis of these phenomena is studied on the example of a specific region as a social space at a certain stage of socio-public transformation, where the foundations of traditional society with the prevalence of vertical connections continue to play an important role. At the same time, young people have a special place in the perception and transformation of values, experiencing at the same time a great influence of globalization and information technologies. The empirical basis of the study was socio-demographic data on the Chechen Republic, quantitative and qualitative methods of surveying the youth of the republic: an online survey was conducted among students (N = 92) aged 19-24 years and in-depth interviews among young people (N = 21), whose average age was 30 years. Additional materials were data from the database of surveys and focus groups collected in recent years. The results of the study showed that the transformation of cultural memory in the region is influenced by both structural factors, primarily demographic, migration dynamics, socio-economic living conditions of the population, etc., and cultural and institutional factors that determine the value attitudes of various segments of the population, the discourses prevailing in the society, attitudes to history, politics, etc. The value landmarks of young people play an important role in the formation of the cultural memory of the Chechen society and act as means of stabilizing and renewing the society. A key feature of the Chechen society is a respect towards elders. The succession of values is under threat of breaking intergenerational ties and subject to an unprecedented information aggression. The issues of an objective attitude to history, developing a position on the modernization of the society are acute.

Media construction of pseudo-events: Lula da Silva at the Portugal’s parliament during a historic annual celebration

The Carnation Revolution (25th April 1974) has changed the course of Portugal, leading it to transition from an autocratic to a democratic Government. Every year, celebrations are conducted at the national Parliament. In 2023, it counted with another guest: Lula da Silva, Brazil’s ongoing president. Considering the notion of cultural memory and media construction of social reality through media events, this article notes Lula da Silva’s presence and exceptional address was portrayed on newspaper front pages of several journalistic media outlets. Therefore, it aims at understanding meaning and discourse production with Lula da Silva’s visit to Portugal on the 25th April 2023 through media coverage and first page highlight. Lula da Silva is noticed by the front pages under analysis as a controversial, entertaining, and eventful celebrity linked to specific positioned actors that is invited to the Parliament and prompts indirectly and directly discontentment and, at the same time, support. Also, it discusses how such spotlight over Lula da Silva turned that visit and Parliament’s address it into a pseudo-event. Adopting a Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis approach, this research work intends to offer a multimodal eye upon those front pages and critically reflect on populism, coloniality, cultural memory, and journalism.