How Societies Remember

Presented by
Sharon Kalman, Sacha Page and
Jennifer Stevenson
About the Author
How Societies Remember
by Paul Connerton published
1989.
Dr Paul Connerton, a
sociologist, teaches in the
department of Social
Anthropology at Cambridge
University.
Fellow of the Institute of
Romance Studies at London
College
Social Memory Terminology
Recollection
Historical Reconstruction
Social Memory
Personal Memory
Cognitive Memory
Performative Actions
Habit Memory
Forgetting
Social Persistence
Social Memory
Using Halbwachs as a starting
point he asserts that memory is a
socially constructed phenomena.
Counters notions of memory that
are purely psychological or purely
constructed by social narrative.
Instead argues that memory is
embodied in social practice.
Habit Memory is primarily
expressed in actual body or
physical movements of people and
in ritual performance.
Social Memory (continued)
Social memory causes an inertia
in social structures.

An important part of
understanding social structures
and identity is an examination of
habit, bodily practices and ritual.

People create notions of

themselves as they relate to their
world and others in their society

These interactions are at the

base of identity creation and
maintenance.
Connertons Intellectual
Antecedents
Maurice Halbwachs La Memoire
Collective
Z. Bauman Memories of Class
P. Nora Les lieux de la memoire
D. Lowenthal The Past is a foreign
country
How Societies Remember
Its Reception
Very well received, not only in Memory Studies
but also in the broad disciplinary fields of
history, sociology and anthropology.
His interpretations of social memory used in
many interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary
studies .
Main criticisms are that his theory portrays
social structures as too static and inert. Also his
claim that his perspective is a new way to
understand social memory, is not quite accurate
because many anthropologists studied bodily
practices.
Commemorative Ceremonies
Ritual
Ritual
Rule-governed activity
of a symbolic character
which draws the
attention of its
participants to objects
of thought and feeling
which they hold to be of
special significance.
Defined by Steven Lukes
and adhered to by Connerton
Ritual
1. The prescribed order of a
religious ceremony
American Heritage Dictionary
2. The prescribed form of
conducting a formal secular
ceremony
American Heritage Dictionary
3. Any act or practice regularly
repeated in a set precise
manner for relief of anxiety
Merriam-Webster medical dictionary
Ritual (continued)
Rites
Formalized acts that
tend to be stylized,
stereotyped, and
repetitive. They are not
spontaneous and are
Hitler Youth march deliberately observed to
denote feelings.
(Dictionary definition: A
ceremonial act
established by law or
custom)

Christian Confirmation
Religion

Jesus

Abraham Mosque
History=identity=
continuity=commemoration

Passover Seder

Pilgrimage to Mecca The Crucifixion (el Greco)

Modern Invented Rites

Olympic Opening Ceremonies

Bastille Day Jubilee Day

Calendrical

Chinese New Year

Jewish New Year

New Years Eve: Times Square
Verbal

Hebrew
Latin`

Sanskrit Arabic
Gestural
Bodily Practices
Incorporating Practices
Information is Living models help
taken from the us learn these
action and practices and the
interpreted based meaning is just
on various factors understood but
such as culture, never directly
religion or race. discussed.
Inscribing Practices
Ways to provide information even after
the informing system has stopped
providing information.
These must be taught in steps and
explained in order to be understood
but once they are understood they are
with us forever.
An example of this is learning the
alphabet.
What type of practice do you think this
is? When do we shake hands?
What type of practice is
this?
The overlap between
practices
There is an overlap
between
incorporating
practices and
inscribing
practices.
Connerton claims
that although the
overlap exists
there will always
be a dominating
factor.
Gestures can also be
Referential which means that it refers
to means of a sign. (cultural)
Notational which means that it
provides support for the content of
the conversation. (transcends culture)
More signs. What do each of these mean
? how did you learn their meanings?
Lessons Learned
Words, images & bodily practices help us
preserve the past.
We are writing in an alphabet that is
centuries old.
We view artifacts that are centuries old.
We are performing simple actions that have
been done for centuries.
Everything we do connects us to the past
whether we realize it or not.