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Kies de Nederlandse taal
Course module: UCHUMLIT35
UCHUMLIT35
Cultural Memory
Course info
Course codeUCHUMLIT35
EC7.5
Course goals
After completing this course, students are able to:
  • use an overview of key terms and methodologies for the study of collective and individual memory
  • refer to a repertoire of representative works from different historical and geographic contexts dealing with questions of memory, trauma, witnessing and testimony
  • deonstrate an understanding of the development of commemorative practices over the course of the 20th and 21st centuries
  • apply theoretical insights to the study of literature, film, and other media of memory
  • situate specific historical events and works in a trans-national, comparative framework
  • speak and write critically about the ethics and politics of memory and representation in public and private discourses about the past, using specialised terms and academic vocabulary
Content
Why do some stories become inscribed into national history whilst others are forgotten? What are the cultural means by which shared stories about the past are produced and negotiated? How do narratives of trauma and victimhood shape a society's self-image? This course explores the material culture and civic performance of public memory, the role of remembrance and forgetting in the construction of collective identities, the shifting of (trans)national frameworks of memory, and the role of literature, film, and other media of memory in constructing narratives about the past that either support or challenge the ‘official’ memory of a country or region. We survey the most recent theoretical reflections on collective memory and on the development of memorial cultures in the 20th and 21st centuries against the background of wars, and of social and technological change.

We will discuss these theoretical and methodological issues in relation to a broad variety of media—memoirs, novels, poetry, and films play a crucial role in how individuals and groups make sense of and transmit the past, but we will also consider memorials, commemorative events, museums, photographs, websites, etc. We will examine different strategies of representation and investigate the ‘social lives’ of these memories—how the public appropriates, reconfigures, and debates them—and also what impact a country's memory culture has on broader social and political issues.

This multidisciplinary course will serve as an introduction to the key questions and methodologies of cultural memory studies. The literary texts will be read alongside a variety of theoretical approaches by historians, literary scholars, philosophers and psychoanalysts, which will enable the students to contextualize them and develop a more general idea of the connections between literary analysis and memory and trauma studies. Students will be encouraged to develop their critical and comparative reading and writing skills via weekly online response postings and to pursue original research for their final paper. The course is designed to give students the opportunity to contribute their questions and thoughts in various conversational settings: oral presentations, in-class discussion and group projects, and, between sessions, online responses and discussion.

Format
Attendance and participation: students are expected to attend each class and participate actively in discussion. Presentation: students will give a short, ca. 15-20 minute presentation that they prepare in small groups. The presentation should introduce a case study, be focused on key themes and issues, discuss important and/or difficult text passages from the primary and secondary materials, and formulate engaging questions for discussion.
Written responses: short weekly responses to the readings, to be posted on workspace. These responses will be taken as basis for in-class discussion Final paper: and a final paper in which students apply key theoretical and methodological approaches critically to a case study of their own choice. Students will be required to write a paper proposal and present their case study to the class.
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Kies de Nederlandse taal