IDS 2014 - History and Memory

Credits: 4
In recent years the concept of memory has emerged as an important topic of historical scholarship. How people as a nation (collective memory) or individuals remember their past, even when that memory is not flawless, can be telling both in terms of individual identity, national consciousness, and the writing of history. This is particularly crucial with regard to the memory and commemoration of war and other forms of conflict, and this course will include works on the two world wars and the Holocaust. The course will begin with an overview of the recent “memory boom” in historical studies, as well as review different approaches to memory taken by scholars from a range of disciplines including psychology and sociology. We will then examine specific examples of “memory” scholarship: historical sites (monuments, commemorations, etc.), social spaces, and the various languages in which memory is expressed in memoirs, oral history, and film.
McDaniel Plan: Social, Cultural, and Historical Understanding