Memories allow individuals to store relevant past experiences in their brains and transmit information across generations in the form of learned cultural traditions. These past experiences can happen through literary representation such as books, film, paintings, and monuments. Memories of this type are known as cultural memories and have been studied by various individuals.
Regarding cultural memory, it is the “transformative historical experience that defines a culture” (Rodriguez & Fortier, 2007) and is shared by a number of people. There are different forms of cultural memory; such as, formal, institutional, private, and personal. These memories can happen through history, schools, religion, holidays, anecdotes, memoires, and counter-narratives.
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“Socially shared versions of history, concepts of identity, values and norms, stereotypes and prejudices, and certain modes of behavior are usually formed in long historical processes and become part of a cultural memory” (Eril, 2010). In Collective Memory and Cultural Identity, Jan Assmann states, “Cultural memory has its fixed point; its horizon does not change with the passing of time. These fixed points are fateful events of the past, whose memory is maintained through cultural formation (texts, rites, monuments) and institutional communication (recitation, practice, observance)” (Assmann, 1995, p. 129). While this refers to human beings, cultural inheritance is widespread in all animals, including vertebrates and invertebrates. “Culture depends on the passing-on of learned knowledge between individuals, through teaching and copying. The duration of cultural memories depends not just on the amount of social learning, but also on the fidelity of information transmission (the accuracy with which information passes between individuals)” (Laland & Rendell, 2013). Furthermore, peoples’ sense of cultural identity is helped along by the literary representation of historical events through reusable texts, images, and rituals. As mentioned above, cultural memories can happen through literary representation.
As Renate Lachmann states, “When literature is considered in the light of memory, it appears as the mnemonic art par excellence. Literature is culture’s memory, not as a simple recording device, but as a body of commemorative actions that include the knowledge stored by a culture, and virtually all texts a culture has produced and by which a culture is constituted” (Lachmann, 2008, pg. 301). Literary scholars Astrid Erll and Ansgar Nunning have emphasized the relationship between literature and memory with three different concepts; the memory of literature, memory in literature and, literature as a medium of collective memory. In reference to the different concepts, the first being memory of literature, Erll and Nunning (2005) state, “the memory of literature appears to be a reference to cultural pre-texts which manifests itself on a text-internal level, actualizing and transforming them.” Secondly, memory in literature, according to Erll (2010), “captures work done on the forms of the aesthetic representation, or: staging, of memory.” Lastly, literature as a medium of collective memory is described by Erll and Rigney (2006) as, “reflecting upon the epistemology, ethics, and workings of collective memory and, as such, it engages in a dialogue with historians and sociologists regarding the interpretation of the past and the forms appropriate to
it.” Through the use of literature, such as paintings, monuments, films, and books; humanity is able to pass along cultural memory. This cultural memory allows individuals to connect with the generations that came before them. We have seen how the different forms of culture memory have been represented throughout history in literature. The literature of a culture allows one continuous thread between the old and new, along with strengthening the integrity of cultures in general.
Joshua Foer’s “The End of Remembering” and Kathryn Schulz’s “Evidence” are two essays that have more in common than one might think. Although on two totally different topics, they revolve around the central point of the complexities of the human mind. However, there are some key elements both writers have contemplated on in differing ways. A vital difference between Foer’s essay and Schulz’s essay is the overall thesis. Foer uses a comical tone throughout his essay to get readers to realize just how dependent society has become on external means rather than ourselves.
Our memory is made up of many different types of memories; episodic, semantic, and implicit. Episodic memory is the remembrance of a certain event. An example of this
What associations arise in our head when we talk about memory? First of all, this is the memory of generations, historical and cultural memory. These concepts correlate with the development of society, with the greatest values and events within the whole world, the state or some individual nations.
The first issue that needs to be addressed however is what exactly is memory? “ Without memory we would be servants of the moment, with nothing but our innate reflexes to help us deal with the world. There would be no language, no art, no science, no culture. Civilization itself is the distillation of human memory” (Blakemore 1988). The simple interpretation of Blakemore’s theory on what memory is that a person’s memory is at least one of the most important things in their life and without it civilization itself could not exist.
Memory is defined as “the faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information” (“Tmesis”, n.d.). Memory is purely mental. Everyone has memories, either pleasant or unpleasant, but they are still there. They are an essential part of who we are and without them, we would struggle to establish our identity. Memory is not only images of the past, but emotions too. They are the main reason a memory is either stored or forgotten.
The cohesion of the members of the oral community is achieved because there is no separation of the knower from the known. The meters, sounds, and images can “not be abstracted beyond commemorative practices…they do not constitute information as a separable body of mental objects” (30), but rather function as an aid to memory. Print culture cannot bridge this gap. Although “writing” permits communication over space and time” (13), the reader is forever distanced from the content. There is no immediacy of knowing, no necessity for memory, and the print culture is provided a license to forget.
Lebow, Richard Ned. "The Future of Memory." American Academy of Political and Social 617 (2008): 25-41. JSTOR. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
How does memory affect the way in which history is viewed? Memory is based on a series of decisions on what is worth remembering and what should be forgotten. It is a process of suppressing history that is unbearable or difficult, yet it is also about reflecting on what is misunderstood. Memory is formed through several influencing factors and elements; Memory can be formed by the study of pop culture and icons, which often propose a reexamination of difficult and repressed memories. Memory is also influenced through exclusions and biases. These can be racially or politically motivated, but they could also derive from personal or cultural trauma. Recorded history such as textbooks, novels,
Remembrance is an integral part of our everyday lives. Both pleasant and unpleasant memories shape who we are as human beings. The definition of memory is two fold 1. “the faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information” and 2. “Something remembered from the past; a recollection” (Google Definition). The life of memory has three stages in which it is created. An event occurs in ones life it becomes encoded and stored in the brain. Following the encoding, the brain then has full access to retrieve the memory in a response to any current activity or thought. Memories are unique to each person. There are three main types of memories that are studied. An individual memory is one that is formed by his or her personal experiences. An institutional
Collective memory is the remembered history of a community; the way groups form memories out of a shared past to create a common identity. Collective memory is the structures that underlie all myths and histories without any distinction between them. The past that is fixed and internalized is myth, whether it is fact or fiction (Assmann 2011: 59). Therefore the memory of a group is a construction, or reconstruction, of the past. Collective memory can be expressed through a variety of different medias, e.g. festivals, rituals, symbols, memorial places, museums, as well as oral and written narratives, like myths, prophecies, law material, biographies and perceived historical accounts (Lewis 1975: 13). Each memory is specifically designed to recall events in the history of the collective. The past remembered is not necessarily a historically accurate past, but it is based on stories recognized to be the past as it has been remembe...
As I have been reading memoirs about memory for this class, each essay made me recall or even examine my past memory closely. However, the more minutely I tried to recall what happened in the past, the more confused I got because I could not see the clear image and believe I get lost in my own memory, which I thought, I have preserved perfectly in my brain. The loss of the details in each memory has made me a little bit sentimental, feeling like losing something important in my life. But, upon reading those essays, I came to realize that remembering correct the past is not as important as growing up within memory. However, the feelings that were acquired from the past experience tend to linger distinctly. The essay that is related to my experience
It has been stated that the application of memory functions in fictional works which act as a reflective device of human experience. (Lavenne, et al. 2005: 1). I intend to discuss the role of memory and recollection in Kazuo Ishiguro’s dystopian science-fiction novel Never Let Me Go (2005).
Imagine having the ability to take a screenshot of what one sees. It sounds like photographic memory, that superhuman ability one often hears about on Dateline, movies, and shows. As much as the idea of saving everything one has ever perceived, storing it away like a file in a cabinet, and recalling it at a moment’s notice sounds amazing, it just isn’t plausible. Despite the sensationalism and myth surrounding it, photographic memory is not real. This misconception is often muddled with eidetic memory. Eidetic memory is the ability to recall certain images in great detail for a certain amount of time. After viewing a picture, a person with eidetic memory will retain the image in his or her mind, as if it is still present, floating in space (Berry, 2014). The “catch” about eidetic memory is that these “snapshots” are not stored forever. They eventually fade over time along with the actual ability itself. In 1964, Haber and Haber, two psychologists, conducted a series of studies on eidetic memory and found a correlation between it and age. In their experiments, children were exposed to a detailed picture on an easel for approximately thirty seconds. When the picture was taken away, the children scanned the blank easel in order to recall the image. They described the image in present tense, as if it was still there (Arnaudo, 2008). Haber and Haber found that although it is relatively rare, eidetic memory occurred more in children than adults. But upon further research, it appears there is an explanation to its gradual dissipation as one matures. Eidetic memory is more commonly found in children, because as children grow, their brains develop linguistically, functionally...
Memory is the tool we use to learn and think. We all use memory in our everyday lives. Memory is the mental faculty of retaining and recalling past experiences. We all reassure ourselves that our memories are accurate and precise. Many people believe that they would be able to remember anything from the event and the different features of the situation. Yet, people don’t realize the fact that the more you think about a situation the more likely the story will change. Our memories are not a camcorder or a camera. Our memory tends to be very selective and reconstructive.
...kinson and Shriffin model: the parallel- distributed and processing connectionistic. The parallel-distributed processing model states that information is processed simultaneously by several different parts of the memory system. Since the time of the first experiment on grouping, psychologists have consistently found that