On Collective Memory

Maurice Halbwachs

ISBN 10: 0226115968 / ISBN 13: 9780226115962

Published by The University of Chicago Press, 1992

About this Item

1992. 1st Edition. Paperback. Editor(s): Coser, Lewis A. Translator(s): Coser, Lewis A. Series: Heritage of Sociology S. Num Pages: 256 pages, black & white illustrations. BIC Classification: JFCX; JHM. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational; (UP) Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly; (UU) Undergraduate. Dimension: 153 x 229 x 15. Weight in Grams: 378. . . . . . Seller Inventory # V9780226115962

Bibliographic Details

Title: On Collective Memory

Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

Publication Date: 1992

Binding: Soft cover

Condition: New

Edition: 1st Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

How do we use our mental images of the present to reconstruct our past? Maurice Halbwachs (1877-1945) addressed this question for the first time in his work on collective memory, which established him as a major figure in the history of sociology. This volume, the first comprehensive English-language translation of Halbwach's writings on the social construction of memory, fills a major gap in the literature on the sociology of knowledge.

Halbwachs' primary thesis is that human memory can only function within a collective context. Collective memory, Halbwachs asserts, is always selective; various groups of people have different collective memories, which in turn give rise to different modes of behavior. Halbwachs shows, for example, how pilgrims to the Holy Land over the centuries evoked very different images of the events of Jesus' life; how wealthy old families in France have a memory of the past that diverges sharply from that of the nouveaux riches; and how working class construction of reality differ from those of their middle-class counterparts.

With a detailed introduction by Lewis A. Coser, this translation will be an indispensable source for new research in historical sociology and cultural memory.

Lewis A. Coser is Distinguished Professor of Sociology Emeritus at the State University of New York and Adjunct Professor of Sociology at Boston College.

About the Author:

Lewis A. Coser (1913-2003) was Distinguished Professor of Sociology Emeritus at the State University of New York.