Troy: Where Memory Meets History

H-Net Reviews in the Humanities & Social Sciences, 2016

2019

As noted by Pierre Nora (1989, p. 17), 'no-one knows what the past will be made of next'. While this is indeed so, it is also the case that the past will surely be 'made' somehow. In this chapter, we take a look at those makings and the ubiquitous desire to recreate what once was that arguably undergirds almost any heritage practice. We discuss re-enactments and reconstructions in France, England and Turkey as examples of this dimension of, and dimensioning of, European memory. The obligation of museums and heritage institutions to keep, store or 'safeguard' the remnants and stories of the past includes frequent attempts at piecing those remnants and stories together and reconstituting some sort of wholes out of them-whether these are the scattered bones of a human being, the previously censored files of a reopened archive, or the tiny splinters of a flint axe. Very often, such recreations are completed with ritual reference to obligations to preserve historical structures or memories as accurately, factually or 'objectively' as possible, allegedly isolating such scientific duties from the realm of politics. As much scholarship has shown, in reality these spheres are of course deeply intertwined, as any reassembly involves a contemporary framing as well as (reflexive or unreflexive) processes of selection, omission and emphasis (e.g.

2007

Culture & History Digital Journal, 2015

Today in heritage studies memory looms larger than ever, there are memory parks, memory politics, and memory wars, there is discussion of 'dissonant', 'dark', and 'difficult' heritage linked to memories of traumatic past events. But what to we mean when we use the word 'memory' in the field of heritage? How is the divide between its social and individual realms bridged? This article theorizes the intimate relationship between heritage and memory by focusing on three areas. First, it maps out the vocabulary that has emerged from the heritage-memory dyad including how notions of collective memory and lieux de mémoire have been used, and occasionally misused, as well as the metaphors employed in the process. Second, the emergence of memory studies is considered, providing a brief overview of its foundations as well as assessing how it differs from, overlaps with, and contributes to heritage research. A third section offers a brief review of recent developments in cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology relating to memory and how this might inform heritage studies. The concluding discussion provides a synthesis of the theoretical and empirical contribution of memory research to furthering out understanding of cultural heritage and proposes directions for future work on the area of confluence between the two.

Historia@Teoria, 2016

CULTURAL HERITAGE AS THE HERITAGE OF MEMORY Th e area of Central and Eastern Europe is characterised by a remarkable concentration of various sites of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Th is abundance, which was created over many centuries, now still serves both these who consider themselves the successors of the former inhabitants of the area and the descendants of those who arrived there thanks to one of the waves of sett lement before the 20th century or due to forced migrations aft er the 20th-century wars. Over the last two centuries this part of Europe, whose elite culture was dominated by the rivalry of two German states (of the Catholic Habsburgs and the Protestant Hohenzollerns), was a virtual ethnic melting pot, in which many diff erent cultures co-existed and infl uenced one another. Th eir memory was preserved in the objects of material and non-material culture. Regardless of the diff erences in the approach, the topics of the papers collected in this volume are focused on the Central European cultural heritage understood as the heritage of memory, particularly the memory which has emerged and existed in relation with border areas. Each of the addressed issues transports us to the past in the search for material and non-material sources of this heritage. Moreover, each paper contains references to the present-day reception of the old heritage of memory, which now takes place through a diff erent community: one that is currently responsible for this heritage. According to the UN Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972), various monuments and architectural works, secular and sacral, groups of buildings and sites "of outstanding universal value from the historical, aesthetic, ethnologica, or anthropological point of view". Whereas the UN Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003) results from many years of searching, which focused on coining a defi nition of this elusive heritage. It is assumed that this very heritage comprises our collective memory. As much as the material culture sustains the identity of the nation, the spiritual, intangible heritage creates, shapes, and enriches it, stimulating its material expression. Th e intangible cultural heritage includes "the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills-as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces (...)-that communities [and] groups recognize as

Heritage and Society, 2019

Colombo, Cristina F. 2019. “Landscapes of Memories: Wide narrations on Contentious Heritages.” In Heritage and Society, edited by Robert Kusek and Jajek Purchla. Krakow: International Cultural Centre. ISBN 978-83-63463-86-1 Landscapes are complex ecosystems, built on a dynamic equilibrium among natural elements and anthropic factors. They bear the material traces of the historical processes of transformation and settlement, the results of cultural and artistic expressions, the evolution of the production techniques and the change of lifestyles. They retain, as well, tangible memories related to painful episodes and architectures built to celebrate events that many wish to forget. Landscapes could be interpreted, in this sense, as “archaeologies of memories.” The presentation will focus on networks of artefacts and heritage sites, diffused in vast territories and characterised by a contentious past (i.e. Spomenik, The Monuments of Former Yugoslavia; old border crossing points). Scientific studies, mapping and museographical actions founded on participatory, inclusive and multi-vocal approaches could counter a dangerous process of “memory loss”. Art and museographical practices could raise a public awareness of the importance of safeguarding difficult heritages. Language: English

Colombo, Cristina F. 2017. "Landscapes of Memories: Wide narrations on Contentious Heritages". International Conference 4th Heritage Forum of Central Europe "Heritage and Society”. Krakow (Poland), International Cultural Centre, 1-3 June 2017. Landscapes are complex ecosystems, built on a dynamic equilibrium among natural elements and anthropic factors. They bear the material traces of the historical processes of transformation and settlement, the results of cultural and artistic expressions, the evolution of the production techniques and the change of lifestyles. They retain, as well, tangible memories related to painful episodes and architectures built to celebrate events that many wish to forget. Landscapes could be interpreted, in this sense, as “archaeologies of memories.” The presentation will focus on networks of artefacts and heritage sites, diffused in vast territories and characterised by a contentious past (i.e. Spomenik, The Monuments of Former Yugoslavia; old border crossing points). Scientific studies, mapping and museographical actions founded on participatory, inclusive and multi-vocal approaches could counter a dangerous process of “memory loss”. Art and museographical practices could raise a public awareness of the importance of safeguarding difficult heritages.

Set: Research Information for Teachers, 2011

Historical significance and sites of memory MicH a el H a r cour t, Gr eGor F oun ta in a nD M a r K sHeeH a n This article critiques a recent professional development course for history teachers that explored how students could use memorials and heritage sites to engage with the concept of significance and how this could contribute to them developing expertise in historical thinking. The course challenged teachers to consider historical significance in terms of disciplinary characteristics (as opposed to memory-history), to move away from the teacher transmission/storytelling model and to incorporate the key competencies in their teaching. The authors argue that the disciplinary frameworks discussed in this paper are important in developing historical thinking among young people, although there is more work required to develop an approach to engaging with historical significance that not only reflects the disciplinary features of the subject but also includes the bicultural dimension of 21st century New Zealand.