78904 - Semiotics of Memory (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will have achieved the necessary tools to critically elaborate the main themes and aspects relating to cultural memory's problems in a semiotic perspective.

Course contents

Memory studies is a relatively young academic field that aims at an interdisciplinary study of collective forms of remembering and of processes of construction, transmission, and communication of the past in contemporary societies and in contexts characterised by an inherent "semiotic complexity" At the same time, memory studies is often in constant dialogue with other disciplines dealing with memory (philosophy, sociology, psychology, semiotics, cognitive science, anthropology, history, archaeology, etc.).

The course will introduce and critically discuss the current debate in the field of memory studies, considering the main issues and questions from a semiotic perspective. Starting from a critical discussion of the concept of collective memory, the various "discursive arenas" (media discourse, historical discourse, legal discourse, political discourse, artistic discourse...) that shape shared - as well as individual - memories (and consequently collective and individual identities) will be highlighted.

Part of the course will focus specifically on the processes of construction and transmission of Cultural Heritage, particularly in terms of its semiotic, political, and conflictual character. Special attention will be given to notions of dissonant and difficult heritage.

 

Preliminary program:
First part
(weeks one and two): Introduction to memory studies and semiotics of memory: approaches and common perspectives. Major thinkers and concepts in memory research (Halbwachs, Jan & Aleida Assmann, Pierre Nora, Paul Ricoeur...). Three semiotic models for the study of cultural memory: Semiosphere (Yuri Lotman), Encyclopedia (Umberto Eco) and Narrativity (Algirdas Greimas).

Part Two
(week three) Collective memory and cultural heritage: dissonant heritage (Tunbridge and Ashworth), difficult heritage (S. Macdonald), idelogical use of heritage (L. Smith).

(week four) Memory politics and spatial narratives: monuments, museums, cities (semiotic approaches). Memory conflicts and contested heritage as semiotic battleground. Cultural memory and processes of decolonization

(week five): Memory studies in the context of current global crises: global and transcultural memories, environment and anthropocene memories

(the last day of the fifth week is dedicated to the presentation of the students' "pre-papers')

Readings/Bibliography

Mandatory reading materials (Syllabus):

Key thinkers and notions (first part):

• Erll, A., Memory in Culture, New York: Palgrave, 2011 (Chapter 1, 2 and 3).
  
• Halbwachs, M. (1950) “Space and the Collective Memory”. In: Halbwachs, M, The Collective Memory, (Chapter 4).
  
• Hobsbawm, E. (2012). “Introduction: Inventing Traditions”. In E. Hobsbawm & T. Ranger (Eds.), The Invention of Tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 1-14
• Nora, P. (1989) “Between Memory and History: Les Lieux de Mémoire”. In: Representations, N.26, Special Issue: Memory and Counter-Memory (Spring 1989), pp. 7-24.
• Assmann, A. (2008) “Canon and Archive”. In: Erll, A.; Nünning, A. (eds.), A companion to cultural memory studies, Berlin, New York: De Gruyter.
• Assmann, J. (2008) “Communicative and Cultural Memory”. In: Erll, A.; Nünning, A. (eds.), A companion to cultural memory studies, Berlin, New York: De Gruyter.
• Lotman, J, Uspensky, B., & Mihaychuk, G. (1978). “On the Semiotic Mechanism of Culture”. In: New Literary History, 9(2), 211-232.
• Eco, U. (1988) “An Ars Oblivionalis? Forget it!”, in PMLA, Vol.103, n.3, 254-261.
• Eco, U. (2013) “Against the Loss of Memory”, New York: United Nations [available online]

Dissonant/Difficult Heritage:

• Macdonald, S. (2009) Difficult Heritage. Negoziating the Nazi Past in Nuremberg and Beyond. Routledge (Introduction, pp. 1-24)
• Tunbridge, J.E.; Ashworth, G.J. (1996) Dissonant heritage: the management of the past as a resource in conflict. J. Wiley, 1996 (Chapter 1-2)
• Smith, L. (2006) Uses of Heritage. Routledge. [chapters 1 & 2]
• Violi, P. (2017) Landscapes of Memory. Trauma, Space, History, Peter Lang [Chapter 1 and 2]

Global/Transcultural Memories:

• Erll A (2011) “Travelling memory”. In: Crownshaw R (ed.) Transcultural Memory. Parallax (Special issue) 17(4), pp. 4–18.

Non attending students’ readings (also optional readings for anyone want to deepen some topics).
Non-attending students must choose 3 articles from the list, one from each group:

Key thinkers and notions (first part):

• Tamm, M. (2019) “Introduction: Juri Lotman’s Semiotic Theory of History and Cultural Memory”
• Lorusso, A.M. (2015) Cultural Semiotics. For a Cultural Perspective in Semiotics. Palgrave Macmillan [chapters 3 & 4]
• Gruia Badescu; Britt Baillie, Francesco Mazzucchelli, “Introduction: Heritage in ‘conflict-time’ and nation-building in the former Yugoslavia”. In: Transforming Heritage in the Former Yugoslavia - Synchronous Pasts. In: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021, pp. 1 – 25

Dissonant/Difficult Heritage:

• Mazzucchelli, F. “Borders of memory. Competing heritages and fractured memoryscapes in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, in: Transforming Heritage in the Former Yugoslavia - Synchronous Pasts, London-New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2021, pp. 102 - 120

• Bellentani, F. and M. Panico (2016) “The meanings of monuments and memorials: toward a semiotic approach.” (2016).

• Francesco Mazzucchelli, From the “Era of the Witness” to an Era of Traces. Memorialisation as a Process of Iconisation?, in: Mapping the ‘Forensic Turn’. Engagements with Materialities of Mass Death in Holocaust Studies and Beyond, Vienna, New Academic Press, 2017, pp. 169 - 191

Transnational/Global memories:

• Assmann A and Conrad S (eds) (2010) Memory in a Global Age: Discourses, Practices and Trajectories. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan [Introduction]

• Rothberg M (2009) Multidirectional Memory: Remembering the Holocaust in the Age of Decolonization. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. [CHAPTER 1]

Other texts will be suggested by the teacher along the course

Teaching methods

The course is articulated in frontal lessons with presentations and other materials that will be made available to students through IOL.

Collective discussions, analysis and tests are essential part of the course. Students are expected to participate actively to class discussions and attendance is highly recommended.

Assessment methods

The exam will consist of a paper which will be discussed with the teacher in an oral exam, in which the student will be asked to defend the research hypothesis and the analysis carried out in the paper. The exam is aimed at assessing the understanding of the readings of the course and the capacity to apply this knowledge in the analysis of cultural memory issues.

Papers are expected to be between 4000 and 6000 words and have to be handed to the teacher at least 15 days before the date of the oral discussion. Final papers may be based on collective work in a group, and in this case their total length must be proportional to the number of people participating in the group.

Students who will not attend the course will have to present a paper of the same length on a topic previously agreed upon with the professor, and an oral examination on three of the papers from the reading list.

Discussions and presentations with students will be scheduled during the course for attending students.

Teaching tools

Multimedial equipment of the class.

Microsoft Teams and other digital software for online lessons.

Slides and other teaching materials will be made available on "Virtuale".

Links to further information

https://centri.unibo.it/trame/it

Office hours

See the website of Francesco Mazzucchelli