Research Catalog

Title

Cultural memory and Western civilization : functions, media, archives / Aleida Assmann.

Author

Assmann, Aleida

Publication

New York : Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Uniform Title

Erinnerungsräume. English

Alternative Title

Erinnerungsräume.

Subject

• European literature > History and criticism
• Memory in literature
• Memory (Philosophy)
• Technology and civilization

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Introduction -- Part I. Functions: 1. Memory as ars and vis; 2. The secularization of memory: memoria, fama, historia; 3. The battle of memories in Shakespeare's histories; 4. Wordsworth and the wound of time; 5. Memory boxes; 6. Function and storage: two modes of memory -- Part II. Media: 7. Metaphors, models, and media of memory; 8. Writing; 9. Image; 10. Body; 11. Places -- Part III. Storage: 12. Archives; 13. Permanence, decay, residue: problems of conversation and the ecology of culture; 14. Memory simulations in the wasteland of forgetfulness: installations by modern artists; 15. Memory as 'leidschatz'; 16. Beyond the archive -- Conclusion: arts of memory.

Call Number

JFE 12-1271

ISBN

• 9780521764377 (hardback)
• 0521764378 (hardback)
• 9780521165877 (paperback)
• 0521165873 (paperback)

LCCN

2011029541

OCLC

YBP 2011029541

Author

Assmann, Aleida.

Title

Cultural memory and Western civilization : functions, media, archives / Aleida Assmann.

Imprint

New York : Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Edition

1st English ed.

Description

xii, 410 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Summary

"Cultures invest great efforts into creating a long-term memory on the basis of oral transmission, media technology and institutional frameworks. This book provides an introduction to the concept of cultural memory, focusing on the 'arts' of its construction, particularly various media such as writing, images, bodily practices, places and monuments. Examining the period from the European Renaissance to the present, Aleida Assmann reveals the close association between cultural memory and the arts, arguing that the artists who have supplemented, criticized, transformed and opposed it are its most lucid theorists and acute observers. Her analysis also addresses the interaction of cultural memory with individual memory and the ways in which cultural memory supports or subverts social and political identity constructions. Ultimately, this book offers a comprehensive overview of the history, forms and functions of cultural memory, which has become a central analytical tool for scholars across disciplines"-- Provided by publisher.

Research Call Number

JFE 12-1271