Topography of Remembrance The Dead, Tradition and Collective Memory in Mesopotamia

Jonker, Gerdien

ISBN 10: 9004101624 / ISBN 13: 9789004101623

Published by E. J. Brill, Leiden, 1995

About this Item

Jacket spine faded. ; Studies In The History Of Religions; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 284 pages.

Seller Inventory # 088235

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Topography of Remembrance The Dead, Tradition and Collective Memory in Mesopotamia
• Publisher: E. J. Brill, Leiden
• Publication Date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9004101624
• ISBN 13: 9789004101623
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

The Topography of Remembrance deals with different forms of remembrance and collective memory in Mesopotamia, discussing both its public (national) and private (family) aspects. The Introduction offers a history of modern, European memory in comparison with the Mesopotamian mode. The research adds to the recent discussion on collective memory.
The Mesopotamians found tools for the construction and passing on of common remembrance in liturgical repetition, in the preservation of buildings and monuments, and in communication channels. To describe these processes the author deals with different texts written between 2300-300 BC, which transport memory from a historical, administrational or religious perspective.
According to this study, the need to remember was prompted by the search for identity, a dynamic process in which forgetting played an essential part. The description of this process is also relevant to modern society. It offers an important contribution to the discussion of acculturation and identity.

About the Author

Gerdien Jonker, Ph.D. (1993) in Science of Religion, University of Groningen (The Netherlands), is presently researching death and disposal in European migrant communities. She has edited a handbook on secular encounters with death.