Astrid Erll Livres

This handbook represents the interdisciplinary and international field of “cultural memory studies” for the first time in one volume. Articles by renowned international scholars offer readers a unique overview of the key concepts of cultural memory studies. The handbook not only documents current research in an unprecedented way; it also serves as a forum for bringing together approaches from areas as varied as sociology, political sciences, history, theology, literary studies, media studies, philosophy, psychology, and neurosciences. “Cultural memory studies” – as defined in this handbook – came into being at the beginning of the 20th century, with the works of Maurice Halbwachs on mémoire collective. In the course of the last two decades this area of research has witnessed a veritable boom in various countries and disciplines. As a consequence, the study of the relation of “culture” and “memory” has diversified into a wide range of approaches. This handbook is based on a broad understanding of “cultural memory” as the interplay of present and past in sociocultural contexts. It presents concepts for the study of individual remembering in a social context, group and family memory, national memory, the various media of memory, and finally the host of emerging transnational lieux de mémoire such as 9/11.

This collection of essays explores two significant developments in cultural memory studies. First, it shifts from static models focused on cultural products to dynamic models emphasizing the cultural and social processes in the ongoing creation of shared pasts. Second, it highlights the media's role beyond mere storage in these dynamics. The collection specifically examines how media use connects to broader socio-cultural processes in collective memory-making, focusing on the dynamics of “mediation” and “remediation.” Key questions include the role of media in producing and circulating cultural memories, how mediation and intermediality shape acts of remembrance, and how new media can redefine collective memory. The essays address various aspects of media-related memories, analyzing the impact of news media, the mediation and remediation of lieux de mémoire, and the representation of colonial, postcolonial, Holocaust, and Second World War memories. Additionally, they problematize these processes within artistic media forms, such as novels and films, offering a comprehensive look at how memory is constructed and represented in contemporary society.

This handbook represents the interdisciplinary and international field of “cultural memory studies” for the first time in one volume. Articles by renowned international scholars offer readers a unique overview of the key concepts of cultural memory studies. The handbook not only documents current research in an unprecedented way; it also serves as a forum for bringing together approaches from areas as varied as sociology, political sciences, history, theology, literary studies, media studies, philosophy, psychology, and neurosciences.“Cultural memory studies” – as defined in this handbook – came into being at the beginning of the 20th century, with the works of Maurice Halbwachs on mémoire collective. In the course of the last two decades this area of research has witnessed a veritable boom in various countries and disciplines. As a consequence, the study of the relation of “culture” and “memory” has diversified into a wide range of approaches. This handbook is based on a broad understanding of “cultural memory” as the interplay of present and past in sociocultural contexts. It presents concepts for the study of individual remembering in a social context, group and family memory, national memory, the various media of memory, and finally the host of emerging transnational lieux de mémoire such as 9/11.

This book questions the sociocultural dimensions of remembering. It offers an overview of the history and theory of memory studies through the lens of sociology, political science, anthropology, psychology, literature, art and media studies; documenting current international and interdisciplinary memory research in an unprecedented way.

The collection showcases new research in the field of cultural and historical narratology. Starting from the premise of the ‘semantisation of narrative forms’ (A. Nünning), it explores the cultural situatedness and historical transformations of narrative, with contributors developing new perspectives on key concepts of cultural and historical narratology, such as unreliable narration and multiperspectivity. The volume introduces original approaches to the study of narrative in culture, highlighting its pivotal role for attention, memory, and resilience studies, and for the imagination of crises, the Anthropocene, and the Post-Apocalypse. Addressing both fictional and non-fictional narratives, individual essays analyze the narrative-making and unmaking of Europe, Brexit, and the Postcolonial. Finally, the collection features new research on narrative in media culture, looking at the narrative logic of graphic novels, picture books, and newsmedia.

Medien werden erst durch bestimmte Formen des sozialen Gebrauchs zu „Medien des kollektiven Gedächtnisses“. Auch das Phänomen eines „Erinnerungsfilms“ (wie z. B. Das Leben der Anderen, Hotel Ruanda, On connaît la chanson) entsteht erst im plurimedialen Zusammenhang, durch seine Einbettung in ein komplexes mediensystemisches Netzwerk, das ihn durch verschiedene Formen der Bezugnahme zu einem solchen macht. Die im Band konturierte erinnerungskulturwissenschaftliche Filmanalyse macht diese Konstellationen in ihrem Funktionieren sichtbar.

Gedächtnis und Erinnerung als interdisziplinäres Forschungsfeld. Welche Forschungstraditionen und Konzepte gibt es? Wie unterscheidet sich der Gedächtnisbegriff in einzelnen Disziplinen? Wie lässt sich die Gedächtnis bildende Wirkung von Literatur und Medien analysieren? Wie kann der Beitrag literarischer Texte zur Erinnerungskultur beschrieben werden? Der Band bündelt die vielfältigen Ansätze und Methoden. Neue Themen der 2. Auflage sind z. B. Gedächtnismedienforschung und transkulturelle Erinnerung in Zeiten der Globalisierung.

„Dies ist ein rundum gelungender Band, dem ich viele Leser wünsche.“Anne Rothe in: German Studies Review 3/2006

'Medien' und 'kollektives Gedächtnis' sind heute Kulturthemen ersten Ranges. Ziel des Bandes ist eine innovative Zusammenführung von Medientheorie und Gedächtnistheorie. In interdisziplinär und kulturwissenschaftlich ausgerichteten Beiträgen erfährt der bislang nur vage konturierte Begriff des Gedächtnismediums eine terminologische Präzisierung. Vertreter der Literatur-, Geschichts-, Politik-, Medien- und Kulturwissenschaft sowie der Psychologie zeigen theoretische Konzeptionen sowie ein breites Spektrum konkreter Forschungsperspektiven zum Themenbereich 'Medien des kollektiven Gedächtnisses' auf. Der Band gewährt einen Überblick über verschiedene Ausprägungen, gesellschaftliche Funktionen, kulturelle Unterschiede und die historische Entwicklung der Gedächtnismedien vom 17. Jh. bis zur Gegenwart.