Role Of Social Memory Research Articles

Introduction

Abstract This special section of Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East ties together a series of modern histories and contemporary ethnographies of Buddhist spaces spread across the Indian subcontinent. Underlining each of the four essays is a concern for the modern fashioning and reimagining of India as a Buddhist “homeland.” In the past century and a half, Buddhist homeland discourses in South Asia have fostered heightened contact between national leaders, Buddhist royalty, entrepreneurs, artists, monastics, and pilgrim-travelers in ways that build upon historical and ritual precedents while simultaneously crafting new paradigms within a transnational, postcolonial arena. Taking inspiration from this translocative orientation, the contributors explore precolonial histories of Buddhist movement alongside more recent networks of Buddhist restoration in the subcontinent, with particular focus on the role of social memory and material culture in shaping the modern episteme. The essays gathered here further these inquiries by exploring how these connections have changed in the context of modern India and how the textures of these encounters cut across national, ethnic, religious, linguistic, and doctrinal lines.

Mechanisms of Preservation of Historical Memory in Institutions of Social and Cultural Sphere (a Case of Saint Petersburg Museum and Exhibition Complex's Cultural and Educative Work)

The paper briefly reviews scientific vision of memory concept, gives the authors' version of understanding of historical memory term. Sociological and philosophical ideas concerning a role of social memory in the context of genesis and reproduction of collective identity are described. Cultural and educational work run by the Saint Petersburg Museum and Exhibition Complex (Saint Petersburg, Russia) as an institution that focused on preservation and passing of historical memory through updated museum and exhibition technologies let to represent demythologized images of the past is analyzed. Authors' assessment of effectiveness of a multimedia exhibition as an institutionalized form of popularization of historical knowledge, that inspires cognitive interest among teenagers and young people is outlined.

The Burial of Jesus Compared with the Burial of Covid-19 Victims: Dishonour and Damage Control

This article is about burials that are lacking in dignity and care, either intentionally or due to adverse circumstances. The impact of such a burial on family and friends is also explored. Two case studies feature in this study, namely the burial of Jesus of Nazareth in the first century CE and the burials of Covid-19 victims today. In both cases, the inability to bestow the respect and compassion considered fitting leads to damage control. The article interprets the burial accounts in the Gospels with the help of the tradition-versus-redaction model whilst not ruling out oral traditioning and the role of social memory. The continuing burial tradition in the Gospels progressively rids Jesus’s burial of disgrace, thereby admitting to a distressing past event. It (re)presents Joseph of Arimathea, whose status is raised to that of a friend, as capable and willing to provide Jesus with a respectable burial. Those experiencing loss today due to the Covid-19 pandemic likewise mitigate the negative effects resulting from the interruption of traditional funeral rituals, in order to honour a loved one and allow grief and mourning processes to continue. It is the contention of this article that the selected method of comparing two exempla enhances our understanding of this study’s subject matter; moreover, today’s Covid-19 victims and bereaved can take comfort from the fact that in terms of the pain of inadequate burial someone has gone before, namely Jesus.

Narrativas de la reconversión. Historias de vida, memoria social y acción colectiva en el astillero de Puerto Real

This article explores the collective memory of the protests against the restructuring of the shipbuilding industry through the life histories of two organisers of the Spanish trade unions CCOO and CNT at Puerto Real shipyard. The unionists’ narratives focus on mobilization experiences against the second stage of the industrial restructuring (which took place in Puerto Real between 1986 and 1987). This episode has been chosen for its radicalism, innovation and social impact. Their life histories are used to study the role of social memory in collective action and to analyse the disputed terrain of trade unionism in Spain during the political transition and the consolidation of the democratic regime.

Narratives of Spatial Division: The Role of Social Memory in Shaping Urban Space in Belfast

The paper examines the role of shared spaces in divided cities in promoting future sustainable communities and spaces described as inclusive to all. It addresses the current challenges that prevent such inclusiveness and suggests future trends of its development to be of benefit to the wider city community. It explains how spaces in divided cities are carved up into perceived ownerships and territorialized areas, which increases tension on the shared space between territories; the control of which can often lead to inter-community disputes. The paper reports that common shared space in-between conflicting communities takes on increased importance since the nature of the conflict places emphasis on communities’ confidence, politically and socially, while also highlighting the necessity for confidence in inclusion and feeling secure in the public domain. In order to achieve sustainable environments, strategies to promote shared spaces require further focus on the significance of everyday dynamics as essential aspects for future integration and conflict resolution.

The role of social memory in natural resource management: insights from participatory video

This research looked at the role of social memory for adaptive natural resource management within indigenous communities of the North Rupununi social‐ecological system (SES) in Guyana. Secondary data from historic texts and archives were first used to build a social and ecological history of the North RupununiSES. Current social memory ‘in use’ was then surfaced through a participatory video (PV) process led by the indigenous community. From this, a compendium of key narratives of the communities' social memory was identified and modes of social memory creation, transmittance and modification were revealed. These highlighted the role of social memory in identity formation and self representation, how social memory maintains and reinforces community connectedness and collectiveness, and howPVsupports indigenous ways of communication, especially the visual. The study provides some valuable insights into the dynamic nature of the North RupununiSESsocial memory, how it is used to make sense of the world, and howPVcan be used as a tool for surfacing and recording social memory.

Mayan Cognition, Memory and Trauma

The argument of this article is organized around the following general themes: understanding representational “exaggeration” for signifying indigenous others; assessing the differences for the social agency of recollection, especially in relation to lawyer‐oriented depositions and researcher‐oriented interviews; analysing the cognitive aspects of surviving the Guatemalan genocide and examining the cognition of discrimination among Mayan‐immigrants in South Florida. Empirical data for this essay is based upon oral histories of three Mayan‐immigrants currently living in Palm Beach County, Florida, and archival data from legal depositions in the 1980s and 1990s of five Mayan‐immigrants in Martin County, Florida. Important aspects of this paper analyse the historical consequences of the Guatemalan Civil War during the 1980s and the role of social memory, episodic trauma, semantic trauma and the ontological effects of violence. In addition, notions of differing forms of time in relation to trauma are introduced as “synchronic trauma” and “diachronic trauma”.

Critical, multicultural education for remembering and reconciliation: A discussion of an interdisciplinary social science course for international students in Finland

In the autumn of 2004, an interdisciplinary social science course entitled Remembering, Forgetting and Forgiveness: Justice and Reconciliation from the National to the International was offered to undergraduate students at the University of Tampere, Finland. The course had 49 students from 10 different countries on three continents. A large portion of the students were on international exchange through the European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students (ERASMUS) programme. The objective of the course was to explore the role of social memory and justice in the process of reconciliation on many different levels. Learning activities aimed to initiate discussions on cross‐cultural understandings of how to overcome violations and forgive or forget. Among the cases explored were child abuse, the massacres in Kosovo, the South African truth commissions and the Finnish civil war. A variety of teaching methods were utilised in the course. Cooperative learning methods were emphasised. Students engaged in group work activities and discussions and listened to a wide range of guest lecturers from diverse disciplines. The evaluation of students was based on individual learning portfolios constructed by students. This paper focuses on how a multicultural education was constructed through the pedagogy of the course, along with discussions with students who assessed their own learning process and perspectives. The theme of the course was judged by students to be very interesting and important, but the role of creative learning methods was viewed as equally significant. Exchange students, in particular, appeared willing to take greater risks in learning during their year abroad. The development of new approaches to learning could thus be an important element of internationalising efforts by universities. Finally, sensitive issues, such as contested collective social memory and complex reconciliation efforts, are best approached through cooperative learning methods that emphasise dialogue.