Cultural heritage and social memory from an anthropological and sociological perspective 3500-FAK-DKPS-OG

The classes will focus on social relations with the past within the framework of social memory and cultural heritage. By definition, memory refers to history and events from the past; however, in social life, it is primarily the object of contemporary activities aimed at creating specific visions of one's group and outgroups, as well as the relations between them, collective identities, and the creation and promotion of specific social attitudes. The following will be discussed:
• ways of perceiving the past in different cultures,
• processes of shaping memory by political institutions (so-called historical policy),
• shaping social memory in minority, local and differently marginalised groups and issues of memory activism,
• Problems of defining the cultural heritage of a given group, including the distinction between tangible and intangible heritage, and forms of its protection at the local, national, and international levels.
The issue of collective memory will be discussed from two perspectives: anthropological and sociological. In the first approach, students will become familiar with various concepts related to the influence of the past on present-day functioning in human societies, including mythical thinking, ancestor worship, and ways of perceiving time. They will also become familiar with cultural and sociological concepts of collective memory, including its function in postmodern societies, the social division of mnemonic labor, and artistic production related to creating specific visions of the past, as well as the ethical issues surrounding social remembering and forgetting.
Classical research on social memory, which underpinned memory studies (e.g., the concept of Maurice Halbwachs), will be presented, as well as contemporary concepts of cultural and communicative memory, memory transmission, post-conflict and post-colonial memory processes, and biographical memory.
The second part of the course will present contemporary concepts in heritage studies, including types of heritage, processes of creating heritage, the role of international law in these processes, “negative” or “troublesome” heritage, social practices towards heritage, and critical studies of postcolonial heritage.
Students will also become familiar with methods used in memory studies and heritage studies.

Type of course

general courses

Mode

Classroom

Course coordinators

Małgorzata Głowacka-Grajper

Learning outcomes

K_W01 knows and understands basic sociological concepts
K_W14 has basic knowledge about the cultural diversity of Poland and the contemporary world
K_W16 has basic knowledge about the problems resulting from the cultural diversity of modern society
K_W22 has basic knowledge about the most critical foreign, international and domestic sociological research
K_W29 is aware of the processes taking place in Polish and global society and their consequences in terms of attitudes and social institutions
K_U02 can interpret past and current social events (political, cultural, economic) using sociological concepts and theories
K_U03 can apply basic sociological terms and categories to the analysis of society, especially contemporary Polish society
K_K12 can properly use sources of scientific information

Assessment criteria

Written exam
Permissible number of excused absences: 2
Rules for retakes: Oral exam

Bibliography

M. Halbwachs, Społeczne ramy pamięci, Warszawa 2008.
J. Assmann, Pamięć kulturowa. Pismo, zapamiętywanie i polityczna tożsamość w cywilizacjach starożytnych, Warszawa 2008.
A. Assmann, Secastian C. (eds.). Memory in a Global Age. Discourses, Practices and Trajectories, 2010
P. Connerton, Jak społeczeństwa pamiętają, Warszawa 2012
P. Connerton, How modernity forgets, 2009
A. Huyssen, Present Pasts: Urban Palimpsests and the Politics of Memory, 2003.
Smith L., Uses of heritage, 2006.
Logan, W. and Reeves, K., Places of Pain and Shame. Dealing with ‘Difficult Heritage’, 2009.
Timm Knudsen Britta, Oldfield John, Buettner Elizabeth, Zabunyan Elvan (eds.), Decolonizing Colonial Heritage. New Agendas, Actors and Practices in and Beyond Europe, 2022.
Verdery, K., The Political Lives of Dead Bodies, 1999.
Winter, Jay. War and Martyrdom in the Twentieth Century and After. “Journal of Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society” 2: 217-256, 2015. .
Nora, Pierre. 1989. Between Memory and History: Les Lieux de Mémoire, “Representations”, no. 26 (Spring 1989): 7-25.
Bernhard, M. and Kubik, J. (eds), Twenty Years After Communism. The Politics of Memory and Commemoration, 2014.

Additional information

Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 3500-FAK-DKPS-OG in USOSweb