Theories of Memory A Reader

This Reader provides a comprehensive introduction to the rapidly expanding field of memory studies. Aimed at students taking advanced undergraduate and taught graduate courses in literary theory, literary studies and cultural studies, it is a resource through which students will be able both to broaden their knowledge of contemporary theoretical perspectives and trace the development of ideas about memory from the classical period to the present. The readings have been carefully chosen by an editorial team with a range of distinct expertise as well as experience of teaching theories of memory to graduate students. The Reader is organised into three parts: Part I, Beginnings, is historical in scope. Its three sections, Classical and Early Modern Ideas of Memory; Enlightenment and Romantic Memory, and Memory and Late Modernity lay out the key psychological, rhetorical, and cultural concepts of memory in the work of a range of thinkers from Plato to Walter Benjamin. Part II, Positionings, identifies three major perspectives through which memory has been defined and debated more recently: Collective Memory; Jewish Memory Discourse; and Trauma. Part III, Identities, examines the key role of memory in contemporary constructions of identity under the headings Gender; Race/Nation; and Diaspora. The general introduction sets out the significance of the field of memory studies while the introductions to the nine sections are written in a clear and accessible style andinclude suggestions for further reading in the area.