How Memories Crowd Themselves Out Of The Public Sphere Of...

Yujia Jiang May 1, 2016 GSAH220 - Global Interactions and Identities Safoi Babana-Hampton Communal Forgetfulness: How Memories Crowd Themselves Out of the Public Sphere Introduction Human history is full of major events. Great tragedies, heroic victories, and unlikely achievements all remain long after they have occurred, alive in the memory of the public and immortalized in histories and songs. Over time, though, the importance of different memories changes, and some memories are effectively â€Å"crowded out† of the public sphere of remembrance. In particular, tragic events that were perpetrated by a culture tend to fade out of that culture’s consciousness to make way for more recent events. These events are not forgotten, but they are viewed through the lens of more recent events. The memories of different events build on each other when they share common themes, even when the events themselves are very different, which leads to a collective memory that is based on shared national or international history. Public Memory People tend to think of memories as a set of individual recollections of specific, chronological events. In reality, though, human memory is much more nuanced and complex than just the storage of data like might be stored on a computer hard drive. Memory is far more colored and far less accurate than simple data storage. One individual’s memory of an event may be entirely different than another individual’s memory of that same event because of differencesShow MoreRelatedVampire Diaries61771 Words   |  248 PagesJudith and Margaret and I were driving back from the airport, I had such a strange feeling. When we turned onto our street I suddenly thought, Mom and Dad are waiting for us at home. I bet theyll be on the front porch or in the living room looking out the window. They must have missed me so much. I know. That sounds totally crazy. But even when I saw the house and the empty front porch I still felt that way. I ran up the steps and I tried the doo r and knocked with the knocker. And when Aunt JudithRead MoreSda Manual Essay101191 Words   |  405 Pages................... Mode of Baptism ...................................................................... Ministers Thoroughly to Instruct Candidates Previous to Baptism ........................................................................... Public Examination .................................................................. Baptismal Covenant ................................................................. Baptismal Vow and Baptism ........................................................