CANS 406 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Mechanical And Organic Solidarity, Pierre Nora, Collective Effervescence
22 May 2018
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3. Monday January 15th: Finishing up with Collective Memory & Pierra Nora
Review
- memorization technique
- social memory
o memory external to the individual
o Durkheim and habermas, both agree that memory is more complex in modern
society
§ D: premodern societies have mechanical solidarity, the only source of
solidarity is the kinship group
§ Tribe united around a single totem
Collective Memory (Durkheim)
- totem was usually an animal, came to unite and symbolize group
- in modern days, people belong to several groups and have several sources of solidarity
- person in modern society may identify herself as a particular member of the state,
political party, social class, or a family
- obligations of each of these groups (strength of solidarity you feel to them) is typically
very quite different between the groups
o different loyalty to family than to Mcgill
- solidarity is in competition with each other between these groups
o usually strong sense of solidarity to one thing decreases solidarity to other
groups
- Hobsbawm:
o one purpose of national identity is a degree of national identity to create a
sense of obligation to the nation
§ ones obligation (solidarity) is stronger to the nation than the
commitment to any other group
o in times of crisis, this obligation to the nation was the strongest possible
obligation, even to one’s own family
§ like war
§ but state’s don’t go to war, nations do
§ states create a sense of obligation through a common collective
memory
- state sponsored history polish state is trying to intervene with polish historian trying to get
particular story of polish history.
-State wants to highlight certain events and interpretation to highlight national identity,
pride and unity
- scholarly sponsored history: contrast; other types of historians want full story that is
complete. Not meant to achieve national
Rituals of Commemoration
- people have a memory of the origin, despite not being there
-Supposed to feel like they were there to get an emotional response
- memory is an effective and emotional process, not intellectual
- Durkheim; collective effervescence/rituals of commemoration
o Created by participants performing simultaneous actions ex. All singing
national anthem
o Meant to create intense emotional excitement
o These events are distinguished from everyday mundane activities and create a
sense of the sacred, which is then attached to the nation/group itself
o Criticism:
§ Intense events aren’t only source of collective memory
Pierre Nora
- French historian
- Hobsbawm and Durkheim are foundational theorists for memory
- Nora is most prominent contemporary theorist
- Advocate of new history: which sees itself in opposition to great man approach to history
(social history), not great men doing great deeds, but about everyday social experiences
- Les Lieux de Memoires (1984), name of his books and concept
o Introduction to the book was published as an article earlier in English, but full
translation comes in mid 1990’s
o Introduction had huge impact, seminal source of a lot of memory studies that
start post 1990’s
- Saw recollection as a way to reshape and conceptualize French history and the way we
approach history itself
o Change definition of historical study
o Need to keep in mind while reading, that he is writing to several audiences.
One of the audiences is other French historians (so he’s a little snide), don’t
worry about his references to French historiography
Lieux de memoire (central concept)
- Translated to Places of memory
o Brings to mind memorials or monuments
o So common, that we need to consider it further
o Seems natural to build structures for the purpose of preserving a memory of an
event or particular group of people
- Nora refers to several other things that aren’t physical structures
o Classrooms, revolutionary calendar (from after revolution), moment of
silence/ritual, holidays (bastille day), archives, veterans group
- Definition: “simple and ambiguous , natural and artificial, at once immediately available in
concrete sensual experience and susceptible to the most abstract elaboration. They are
lieux in 3 senses of the word: material, symbolic, and functional”
o Something beyond place and location
o Simultaneously material, symbolic, and functional
Memory and History (examples for Nora)
- Continuing with Nora
- Essay is concerned with relationship between memory and history
- “We speak so much of memory because there is so little of it left” English translation
even says “we talk so much of memory because it no longer exists”
o but contradictingly in next paragraph brings about lieux de memoires, as a
place where memory protects itself and seeks refuge
o further on, he says memory has been replaced by history by modern science
§ distinguishes history in “real memory”
§ confrontation: real memory retained as the secret fo so called primitive
or archaic societies and history vs. modern societies propelled by
change, organize the past
§ history is how modern societies preserve the past, but history is also
associated with a modern view of time. In this modern view of time,
time is progressive and linear, individuals and societies are always
moving through time towards the future so that the past is always
separated from the present.
§ As our sense of history accelerates, idea of a changing world even
more rapidly, oru idea of the past seems increasingly remote and
tenuous (rapidity of modern change means past is increasingly
remote and inaccessible)
§ History in the formal sense of those narratives created by historians to
preserve the past, always seems to be separate and outside the
individual and separate from the time
- Therefore, Lieux de memoires, then, is a part of formal history. It is a product of modern
history. Lieux de memoires is the way in which history preserve the past.
- To do this, Lieux de memoires must be consciously set apart from space and time, they
are put in places separated from everyday life
o Because they are accorded special status
o Ex. Canada day, national holiday so nobody works (special status)
§ Its accord sacred status
§ Also, it is set aside form everyday mundane activities
- In contrast to rapid movement of history, lieux de memoires are meant to reflect on a
moment back in time. When you visit a memorial, you are stepping back in time to embody
the memorial
o To preserve tis moment of time, lieux de memoires is unchanging and eternal
o They don’t have an expiration date.
o Act as if our memorials will last forever, and will preserve their particular
memory indefinitely
- Memory is externalized in time and space because this is the only form of memory,
history can create
- Nora departing from Durkheim** doesn’t think the effectiveness of lieux de memoires
doesn’t depend on spectacular rituals (i.e. don’t need collective effervescence)
o But also, without collective vigilance, history would soon weep them away
o So collective activities are ritualized in the everyday, but not so much in
intensive episodes like collective effervescence
o Ex. National anthem is more powerful than Canada day
Document Summary
Monday january 15th: finishing up with collective memory & pierra nora. Social memory: memory external to the individual, durkheim and habermas, both agree that memory is more complex in modern society. D: premodern societies have mechanical solidarity, the only source of solidarity is the kinship group. Totem was usually an animal, came to unite and symbolize group. In modern days, people belong to several groups and have several sources of solidarity. Person in modern society may identify herself as a particular member of the state, political party, social class, or a family. Obligations of each of these groups (strength of solidarity you feel to them) is typically very quite different between the groups: different loyalty to family than to mcgill. Solidarity is in competition with each other between these groups: usually strong sense of solidarity to one thing decreases solidarity to other groups.
