95701 - MEMORY AND HERITAGE IN AN INTERCULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

Learning outcomes

Discrepancy between narratives of memory produced and negotiated by institutional and political discourses and that of memory as an intersubjective practice allows us to observe the power structures included in the discourses of Cultural Heritage policies and management practices. By the end of the course, the student: is expected to gain a better understanding of the cultural processes built from the social production of knowledge and the relation between memory and heritage, being capable of understanding how Cultural Heritage is a cultural process sustained by cultural practices concerned with the craft and the mediation of the collective memory narratives as well as the social and cultural values supporting, and how Cultural Heritage appears only when something is narrated, defined and / or treated as heritage in favorable socio-cultural contexts.

Course contents

The course introduces students to cultural memory theories and their relation with heritage and heritage policies. It focuses on matters of cultural mediation, analyzing institutional and bottom-up models.

1. Cultural memory: concepts and problem

a) “History” of memory

b) Conceptualizing Cultural memory

2. History and Memory/Shared Memory

3. Memory, heritage and globalizatio

a) Conceptual tools: from national culture to interculturality

b) Decoloniality as a concept for memory and heritage

4. Tourism and memory: sceneries

5. Capitalism and memory policies

6. Dissonant heritage.

a) Production of dissonance in mass-tourism

b) Racial theories, museum collections and narratives

c) Monuments and meanings: some study cases

Readings/Bibliography

Compulsory Bibliography (Attending and NON-attending students*)

WINTER, Jay. “Sites of memory and the shadow of war”. In: ERLL, Astrid & NÜNNING, Ansgard. Cultural memory Stydies – an international and interdisciplinary book. Berlin: The Groyter, 2008. P. 61-74.

DIETRICH, Harth. “The Invention of Cultural Memory”. In: ERLL, Astrid & NÜNNING, Ansgard…. P. 85-96

ASSMAN, Jan. “Communicative and Cultural Memory”. In: ERLL, Astrid & NÜNNING, Ansgard…. P. 109 – 118.

MARCEL, J-C. & MUCCHIELLI, L. “Maurice Halbwach’s mémoire collective”. In: ERLL, Astrid & NÜNNING, Ansgard…. P. 141-149

OLICK, Jeffrey K. “From Collective Memory to the Sociology of Mnemonic Practices and Products”. In: ERLL, Astrid & NÜNNING, Ansgard…. P. 151 – 161.

LANGENOHL, Andreas. “Memory in Post-Authoritarian Societies”. In: ERLL, Astrid & NÜNNING, Ansgard…. P. 163 – 172.

MEYER, Erik. “Memory and Politics”. In: ERLL, Astrid & NÜNNING, Ansgard…. P. 174 – 180.

SMITH, Laurajane. Uses of Heritage, chapters 1 and 2 (p. 9-84). New York: Routledge, 2006.

LOWENTHAL; David. The Heritage Crusade and the spoils of History. (p. 1 – 30 / 88 – 104 / 105 – 126). Cambridge: University Press.

Complementary bibliography suggested

CONNERTON, Paul. How modernity forgets. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009 (On Virtuale)

BAYART, Jean-François. The illusion of cultural identity. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 2005 (On Virtuale)

LÄHDESMÄKI, Tuuli et Al. (Ed.). Dissonant Heritages and Memories
in Contemporary Europe. Cham: Palgrave McMillan, 2019 (Open Access Pubblication).

HALBWACHS; Maurice. On Collective Memory.

Non-attending students, in addition to the texts indicated previously, can select in place of the lessons one of the following texts:

TURUNEN, Johanna. “A Geography of Coloniality: Re-narrating European Integration”. In: LÄHDESMÄKI, Tuuli et Al. (Ed.). Dissonant Heritages and Memories in Contemporary Europe. Cham: Palgrave McMillan, 2019 (Open Access Pubblication). P. 185 – 214.

HALBWACHS; Maurice. On Collective Memory. (Chapter I “The social frameworks of memory”). Various editions.

Teaching methods

The course emphasises participatory teaching. Teaching is carried out through lectures and the use of technological aids. It is also carried out through in-depth seminars with students, discussion of empirical cases, practical exercises, viewing and analysis of film clips, documentaries and videos on the themes of the course. Students will be asked to play a very active role, through discussions, analysis of case studies, and work to be processed outside of class time and presented.

Assessment methods

For attending students - the learning assessment consists of: 1 mid-term test (in the middle of the course); written elaboration on one of the topics of the course, participation in discussions, exercises and group works. All of this will be included in the assessment and will serve as a mean of checking individual learning in relation to the course undertaken in the classroom. The examination program is roughly similar to that of non-attenders.
Attendees who have achieved and passed the pass mark in the mid-term examination can register their mark (by registering for the roll call, without having to be present during the registration); or, to complement the pass mark, they can write their essay; or they can decide to take the oral examination on the whole program.
Particularly assessed at all stages will be the student's ability to move within the sources and bibliographic material in order to be able to identify useful information in them that will allow him to illustrate the aspects covered in the course.
Specifically, the following will be assessed
- Active participation in class, exercises: 10%
- Essay: 20%
- Mid-term Test: 70%
The oral interview focuses on the texts indicated in the course bibliography and is aimed at testing the student's ability to analyze, critique and control the discipline as a whole.
The criteria adopted for the evaluation of learning are: knowledge of the bibliography of the program; ability to develop arguments autonomously; ability to describe and illustrate phenomena, processes, practices studied by the sociology of cultural and communicative processes; ability to empirically place theoretical generalizations; ability to deal with a sociological reflection on aspects and processes of transformation of contemporary society.
Non-attending students must integrate the bibliography for the call. (Integrations indicated in READINGS/BIBLIOGRAPHY).

Teaching tools

Lectures. Network resources. Coordinated discussions. Orientation and tutoring for the paper elaboration outside of class time (on telematic platform).
Pandemic permitting, visit to Forlì and to Natural History Museum (Unibo)

Students with special needs should contact the teacher.

Office hours

See the website of Giulia Crippa