Creating a new discipline of memory studies

TitleCreating a new discipline of memory studies
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2008
AuthorsH. L. Roediger, J. V. Wertsch
JournalMemory Studies
Volume1
Issue1
Pagination9-22
ISSN1750-6980
Abstract

The multidisciplinary field of memory studies combines intellectual strands from many domains, including (but not limited to) anthropology, education, literature, history, phil- osophy, psychology and sociology. Our article has four parts. We first consider defin- itions of memory and note that the single term itself is not particularly useful. Rather, scholars must specify the type or variety of memory under investigation. Second, we consider the breadth of memory studies and briefly survey disciplines in addition to those listed above that may prove interested parties to the new field. Third, we argue that the field of memory studies is just emerging, and that its proper development will require creation of a systematic set of methodological tools (qualitative and quantitative) that may be borrowed from various social sciences and adapted to new purposes. Finally, we describe two undergraduate programs in memory studies that have been developed at Washington University in St. Louis, USA and that might be used as models for similar programs.

URLhttp://mss.sagepub.com/cgi/doi/10.1177/1750698007083884
DOI10.1177/1750698007083884
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