1 Introduction: Interpreting Contentious Memories and Conflicts over the Past
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Thomas DeGloma
Abstract
This chapter provides an introductory exploration of the issues involved with interpreting contentious memories and social conflicts over the past. We provide a first look at the various core dimensions of mnemonic conflict and contention, discussing the tensions between countermemories and dominant or default memories, as well as autobiographical memory/personal testimony and collective memory. We also discuss how mnemonic disputes can revolve around the existence, nature, and relevance of the past. Above all, we discuss the importance of conscious reflection on the ways that we interpret contentious memory and encourage readers to reflect on their interpretive lenses as they engage in the research process. We stress the need to consider psychosocial, interactionist, and cultural modes of analysis, while also being aware of various critical interpretive perspectives that help us to illuminate different social dimensions of power in the world. We then provide a thorough overview of the book, detailing some of the main contributions of each chapter.
Abstract
This chapter provides an introductory exploration of the issues involved with interpreting contentious memories and social conflicts over the past. We provide a first look at the various core dimensions of mnemonic conflict and contention, discussing the tensions between countermemories and dominant or default memories, as well as autobiographical memory/personal testimony and collective memory. We also discuss how mnemonic disputes can revolve around the existence, nature, and relevance of the past. Above all, we discuss the importance of conscious reflection on the ways that we interpret contentious memory and encourage readers to reflect on their interpretive lenses as they engage in the research process. We stress the need to consider psychosocial, interactionist, and cultural modes of analysis, while also being aware of various critical interpretive perspectives that help us to illuminate different social dimensions of power in the world. We then provide a thorough overview of the book, detailing some of the main contributions of each chapter.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Series Editors’ Preface: Interpretive Lenses in Sociology – On the Multidimensional Foundations of Meaning in Social Life vii
- Notes on Contributors xii
- Acknowledgments xvii
- Introduction: Interpreting Contentious Memories and Conflicts over the Past 1
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Interpreting Memories in the Social Dynamics of Contention
- On the Social Distribution of Soldiers’ Memories: Normalization, Trauma, and Morality 29
- Feminist Approaches to Studying Memory and Mass Atrocity 49
- Mobilizing Memories: Remembrance as a Social Movement Tool in the Vieques Anti-Military Movement (1999–2004) 69
- The Ballot of Donald and Hillary: Hateful Memories of Celebrity Leaders 89
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Racism, Exclusion, and Mnemonic Conflict
- Building a Case for Citizenship: Countermemory Work among Deported Veterans 113
- Commemorations as Transformative Events: Collective Memory, Temporality, and Social Change 134
- Contentious Pasts, Contentious Futures: Race, Memory, and Politics in Montgomery’s Legacy Museum 154
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Genocide, Memory, and the Historicizing of Trauma
- Remembrance and Historicization: Transformation of Individual and Collective Memory Processes in the Federal Republic of Germany 177
- Enlisting Lived Memory: From Traumatic Silence to Authentic Witnessing 197
- Changing Memories of the Shoah in Post-Communist Countries: New Memories and Conflicts 217
- How Difficult Pasts Complicate the Present: Comparative Analysis of the Genocides in Western Armenia and Rwanda 236
- Conclusion: Memory and the Social Dynamics of Conflict and Contention: Interpretive Lenses for New Cases and Controversies 258
- Index 266
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Series Editors’ Preface: Interpretive Lenses in Sociology – On the Multidimensional Foundations of Meaning in Social Life vii
- Notes on Contributors xii
- Acknowledgments xvii
- Introduction: Interpreting Contentious Memories and Conflicts over the Past 1
-
Interpreting Memories in the Social Dynamics of Contention
- On the Social Distribution of Soldiers’ Memories: Normalization, Trauma, and Morality 29
- Feminist Approaches to Studying Memory and Mass Atrocity 49
- Mobilizing Memories: Remembrance as a Social Movement Tool in the Vieques Anti-Military Movement (1999–2004) 69
- The Ballot of Donald and Hillary: Hateful Memories of Celebrity Leaders 89
-
Racism, Exclusion, and Mnemonic Conflict
- Building a Case for Citizenship: Countermemory Work among Deported Veterans 113
- Commemorations as Transformative Events: Collective Memory, Temporality, and Social Change 134
- Contentious Pasts, Contentious Futures: Race, Memory, and Politics in Montgomery’s Legacy Museum 154
-
Genocide, Memory, and the Historicizing of Trauma
- Remembrance and Historicization: Transformation of Individual and Collective Memory Processes in the Federal Republic of Germany 177
- Enlisting Lived Memory: From Traumatic Silence to Authentic Witnessing 197
- Changing Memories of the Shoah in Post-Communist Countries: New Memories and Conflicts 217
- How Difficult Pasts Complicate the Present: Comparative Analysis of the Genocides in Western Armenia and Rwanda 236
- Conclusion: Memory and the Social Dynamics of Conflict and Contention: Interpretive Lenses for New Cases and Controversies 258
- Index 266
