N.B. This course will be offered from July 24 through August 15, 2 hours a day

*The Uses of the Past: Individual and Collective Memory*



Memory is a multifaceted concept that is often interchanged with other similar concepts and used as an equivalent: transmission, inheritance, tradition, history, and identity to cite the most obvious. But what is the specificity of memory? The principal aim of this course is to define the characteristics and functions of the different processes of remembering in both private and public spheres. The course focuses on two principal dimensions:

- Understanding individual familial memory and its role in the construction of social and personal identity

- Explaining the uses of collective memory and commemoration in contemporary democratic societies, and especially in France today

The general framework of the course is designed to integrate social and individual approaches to memory, drawing on a wide diversity of research and knowledge from the social sciences and history. It also develops broader approaches by analyzing examples from literature and cinema.



Required Text:

A.Muxel; ""Individu et mémoire familiale"", ISBN : 978-2-01-279318-7;Hachette, Collection Pluriel, 2007