Re-Collection: A Proposal for Refining the Study of Collective Memory and its Places

Abstract

This article outlines a theory of re-collection as a means of enhancing and enriching the study of collective memory. Re-collection seeks to generate insights into two underdeveloped threads of collective memory research: (a) its processual and dynamic nature and (b) its largely emplaced character. In particular, this article argues that places of memory are not finished texts, but sites of re-collection in which individuals and groups selectively cull and organize re-collected versions of the past. Grounded in Michael McGee's concept of rhetorical fragments, the theory of re-collection involves attending to discursive fragments of memory that circulate within and around the memory site-as well as the fragments brought to the site by individuals and collectives. Re-collection thus requires analytical tools beyond those traditionally used in rhetorical criticism-as is illustrated in a case study proposal for exploring the process of re-collection surrounding the Space Window in Washington National Cathedral.

Nostalgia Isn't What it Used to Be: Partisan Polarization in Views on the Past*

“…Past work on collective memory by Olick () distinguishes between two types of memory, which Olick labels “collected” and “collective” memory. Collected memory is the aggregated memories of individuals, while collective memory is the public manifestation of social memory (see also Aden et al., ). Our present approach measures memory with survey responses and thus places us squarely in the collected memory tradition, but it is important to recognize how the two forms interact.…”

Communication Geography: A Bridge Between Disciplines

“…If we understand “media” to be much more than simply technologies, then places are media in their own right, since they gather, include, omit, and re‐collect elements of collective memory (Aden et al, 2009). As Tonkiss argues (2005, p. 68)“Even if the public sphere is now largely imagined in terms of mediated connections (via print and electronic media, and especially via the Internet), being together in place remains an important aspect of how people engage with various ‘publics.”’Jansson (2006) has suggested the term “textural analysis” for the study of how patterns of communication are enacted and negotiated in places, and Adams, Hoelscher, and Till (2001) situate the “textures of place” at the heart of geographical inquiry, as well.…”

When Memories and Discourses Collide: The President's House and Places of Public Memory

“…My investigative process was informed by the theoretical ideas advanced by Aden et al (2009), who urged scholars to discern the meanings embedded within places of memory by seeking the perspectives of those who experience the memory site. In addition, because I assume that the discourses of those individuals reveal their membership in publics distinguished by affective investments in meanings about the place of public memory, I embrace Hauser's (1999) admonition that we should adopt ''an empirical attitude toward the ways in which publics, public spheres, and public opinion are manifested .…”

“…Similarly, individuals in this public imagined how future visitors to the project would emotionally experience the installation, a notion emphasized by Aden et al (2009), who pointed out that visitors to memory sites not only ''make sense of their experience but . .…”