The Past in the Present: Culture and the Transmission of Memory

TitleThe Past in the Present: Culture and the Transmission of Memory
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2004
AuthorsRon Eyerman
JournalActa Sociologica
Volume47
Issue2
Pagination159-169
ISSN00016993
Abstract

The aim of this article is to outline a theory cultural trauma, with reference to slavery and the formation of an African American identity. With this in mind, the concepts 'collective memory' and 'collective identity' are discussed and linked with a theory of intellectual generations. It is proposed that the notion of an 'African American' emerged as part of the efforts of a generation of black intellectuals to come to grips with their, individual and collective, rejection by American society after being promised full integration following the end of the Civil War (1861-5). Slavery, not so much as experience, but as a form of memory, was a focal point of reference in this process.

URLhttp://www.jstor.org.libproxy.cc.stonybrook.edu/stable/4195021
DOI10.2307/4195021
Short TitleThe Past in the Present
Zotero Tags: