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Public Memory

Public Memory. What is Culture?. Culture. A group of people’s shared sense of reality. We act according to how we perceive reality. But what if reality is not what we perceive it to be? Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. Plato’s Republic Book VII.

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Public Memory

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  1. Public Memory

  2. What is Culture?

  3. Culture • A group of people’s shared sense of reality. • We act according to how we perceive reality. • But what if reality is not what we perceive it to be? • Plato’s Allegory of the Cave.

  4. Plato’s Republic Book VII • “And now look again, and see what will naturally follow if the prisoners are released and disabused of their error. At first, when any of them is liberated and compelled suddenly to stand up and turn his neck round and walk and look towards the light, he will suffer sharp pains; the glare will distress him, and he will be unable to see the realities of which in his former state he had seen the shadows; and then conceive some one saying to him, that what he saw before was an illusion, but that now, when he is approaching nearer to being and his eye is turned towards more real existence, he has a clearer vision, -what will be his reply? And you may further imagine that his instructor is pointing to the objects as they pass and requiring him to name them, -will he not be perplexed? Will he not fancy that the shadows which he formerly saw are truer than the objects which are now shown to him? ”

  5. Words of Wisdom • “Fairy tales are told for entertainment. You’ve got to distinguish between the myths that have to do with the serious matter of living life in terms of the order of society and of nature and stories with some of these motifs that are told for entertainment.”—Joseph Campbell • “It will be seen that the control of the past depends above all on the training of memory.”—George Orwell • “Nationalism usually conquers in the name of a putative folk culture.”—Ernest Gellner

  6. Your Choice • “This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.”--Morpheus

  7. The Many Names of Public Memory • Collective • Social • Cultural • Popular • Public

  8. The Study of Public Memory • Emile Durkheim (1858-1917), a French sociologist who argued for the existence of a Collective Conscience. He defined it as a set of shared beliefs, ideas, and moral attitudes which operate as a unifying force in society. • Maurice Halbwachs (1877-1945), another French sociologist, continued Durkheim’s research and contended that all acts of memory are inherently social. In other words, to remember is to act as part of the collective. • Scholars did not reexamine the concept until the late 1980’s and 1990’s.

  9. What is Public Memory • A body of beliefs and ideas about the past that help a public or society understand both its past, present, and by implication, its future. • Public memories are those about which we can interact, deliberate, share, and, in turn, these public memories serve as a horizon within which a public finds itself, constitutes itself, and deliberates its own existence. • But it changes with the times because Memory is fluid and dynamic, but it is not aware of these changes and is then vulnerable to manipulation and appropriation. • It lies in stark contrast to “official history,” which you can equate with a class such as this. Official history is critical and aware, disordered and full of conflict, not tidy, tame, and full of nationalistic sentiment. • All societies/nation states have their own unique version. Civilization, both macro and micro has its own public memory.

  10. Characteristics of Public Memory • Active by present issues or anxieties—it talks about some events more than others to defend current belief. It glorifies certain events and, at times, concocts false history. • Narrates shared identitiesand constructs senses of communal belonging—This can be seen through nationalism/patriotism. • Animated—instead of a chronological, historical narrative, events, people, objects, and places are deemed worthy of preservation because of what they symbolize. This is, of course, in opposition to official history which is critical.

  11. Characteristics of Public Memory • Partial, partisan, and contested—public memory is viewed as sacred and set in stone, even though people can look around and see all of the conflict their society has with their own eyes. This is where school history classes come into the picture because people cannot agree what to teach. • Relies on material and/or symbolic supports—language, ritual performances, objects, and places. Symbols and monuments are widely used. • Has a history—it changes with the times.

  12. Why Does it Exist? • IT IS NOT A CONSPIRACY!!!!!!! • There is no shadowy cabal of rich men sitting around a table in a darkened room with Anastasia Romanov, Elvis, Tupac and Biggie determining it. • WE DO THIS TO OURSELVES • The human mind naturally seeks out order, and as the story of Simonides of Cios explains famously in Cicero’s Art of Rhetoric, Order is what makes up memory. As humans we demand order, and readily accept a sequence of orderly events if they seem plausible. • This is also how conspiracy theories take hold.

  13. Two Examples of the Formation of Public Memory • Places • The School System

  14. Public Memory and Place • What comes to mind when you hear these words: • Palestine • Columbine • Disney World • Hogwarts • The White House • The Mexican Border • Ground Zero • Pearl Harbor • The Middle East

  15. Place • The most significant places used to formulate public memory are museums, preservation sites, battlefields, and memorials. In fact, a study (Rosenzweig and Thelen 1998) showed that Americans trusted public places on their historical accuracy over eyewitnesses and college professors. It must be noted that movies and television programs were far down on the list, at least. • We make pilgrimages to them and share the experience with other members of our society. We readily accept the messages because we are expected to by our culture. • What we do not understand is that the place was chosen for us as culturally relevant. • “The Most Photographed Barn in America” • Vietnam Memorial • Geography also influences the message, such as Mt. Rushmore.

  16. Origin of Place • Usually results from a local initiative. For a local example, look at the restoration of the Wyoming Monument that was struck by lightning. • Chamber of Commerce, a church congregation, local chapters of organizations, etc. take the lead and usually public funds are acquired. • The site then tells a favorable story of the local community, and particularly to that part of the community that erected or restored it. • The individual with the most historic markers in the nation is Nathan Bedford Forrest! What did he do? Do you think it says it on the markers?

  17. Things to be Found at Places • Tour guides who sanitize their stories so they fit all audiences by omitting controversial or “adult-themed” material. • Blatant omissions of facts to portray the site in a good light and to explain its cultural importance. • Presidents are perfect, even though everyone listening knows that every president they ever knew had his detractors, usually more than half of the nation! • Nobody has any faults. • The set up of tours does not really give time to ask any questions, and even if it does the person feels self-conscious asking such questions because they have little knowledge of the history. • War without actual war.

  18. Common Tropes • American Exceptionalism • American Dream

  19. American Exceptionalism • “City Upon a Hill.” All eyes are upon us. A model for the world. Modern governments are Parliamentary. • Protestant work ethic leads to personal success. Hard work leads to success? • Political Liberty. Greece, Rome, and England. • Tamed a wild land. • Land of Opportunity.

  20. American School System • 5/6 of Americans do not take an American history course after high school. • Where it all begins. • Boring, monotone teachers. • Textbooks dominate, and a high school American history textbook averages 1,150 pages! Soaring Eagles, flags, patriotic names. Who writes them? • Names and Dates. • Nothing controversial all presented as fact. • Nationalist portrayal of America. • Who chooses this curriculum?

  21. What Do We Teach • Conservative vs. Liberal • Texas • http://www.texasgop.org/wp-content/themes/rpt/images/2012Platform_Final.pdf • Evolution • Secular Government • Women’s history • History of minorities. • Capitalists and Labor

  22. How Do We Change? • THERE IS NO CONSPIRACY, WE DO THIS OURSELVES. • When do we teach the truth?

  23. A Final Warning • You will never look at the world or this nation the same way ever again. • I know you did not believe me earlier, but do you believe me now? • Nothing is sacred…nothing. • Bias—mine and yours. • You will become more intelligent after this course, it is impossible to forget some of these things you will learn.

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