黑料正能量

On Tuesday, December 14, 2021, the George and Irina Schaeffer Center for the Study of Genocide, Human Rights and Conflict Prevention held the third event in its series of monthly seminars for the 2021鈥�22 academic year, titled 鈥淔iguring Memory: Social Practices and Collective Transformation.鈥� The online event was organized in collaboration with Sarah Gensburger and Sandrine Lefranc at France鈥檚 national scientific research center, CNRS. Guest lecturer Thomas Van de Putte, a former investigative journalist and current postdoctoral fellow from the University of Trento, spoke on the subject of 鈥淐ultural Memory: From Event to Action.鈥澛�

Van de Putte鈥檚 presentation explored research opportunities in memory and morality, particularly with respect to new social theories of cultural memory. He emphasized the cultural and social aspects of memory when discussing collective memory, defining in the process cultural memory as 鈥渞elatively stable representations of the past that reside in disembodied, objectified forms of culture.鈥� He argued that too many scholars have been looking at culture as it has already been situated rather than furthering the field by retheorizing what cultural memory might mean.聽聽

His research looks at ways in which differing interactional contexts change how people participate in cultural memory. He drew a distinction between 鈥渢hick鈥� communities, which have strong social bonds between those involved, and 鈥渓ight鈥� social groups, which are tight-knit but ephemeral. He stressed that the assumption in memory education is that teaching people values will change their actions. 鈥淭he main finding, however, is that morality doesn鈥檛 inform action, but instead is often used to explain action after it has happened,鈥� he said. 鈥淢emory education can be potentially adapted to this, but we must not forget interactional strategies.鈥澛�

Van de Putte is currently working on a book from his ongoing ethnographic research. The purpose of the work will be to argue that literature holds the same interactional structure as cultural memory. 鈥淐reating interactional disruptions is a methodical way to uncover the normal,鈥� he explained. 鈥淒isruption uncovers the ordinary.鈥� Following his lecture, Van de Putte took questions from the audience, including on his recent academic publications and his influences from the field of sociology. You can watch the full lecture and Q&A in the video below.聽

Significant contributions to this news piece were made by 黑料正能量 student and Schaeffer Fellow, Michael Justice.聽