Memory policymaking: Issues, disputes, and priorities

Document Type : Original Research Paper

Author

Professor of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract
Debates surrounding memory narratives have become a crucial component of politics, diplomacy, and the global cultural and political system, shaping part of the political and emotional economy of the contemporary world. The "memory turn" has correspondingly heightened attention to memory policymaking as the organization of collective memory by governments and political actors. This article, rooted in an interdisciplinary tradition, provides an overview of memory policy strategies and elaborates on the key concepts and components associated with this type of policymaking (particularly in the context of national calendars). It aims to propose a conceptual model for understanding the interactions between various levels and elements involved in this process. According to this model, memory regimes and their related policies are influenced by four levels:

Supranational (Global Memory): Addressing international influences on collective memory.

Macro (Structural and Historical Constraints): Examining overarching historical and systemic challenges.

Meso (Cultural Variations and Divides): Considering regional or cultural diversities and tensions.

Micro (Individual Interpretations and Choices): Focusing on personal agency and individual memory interpretations.

The intersection of these levels determines the priorities and orientations of memory policymaking. Maintaining balance across these components can reduce memory-related tensions while fostering cultural dynamism and stronger cohesion.

Keywords

Subjects


Bal, M. (2002). Traveling concepts in the humanities: A rough guide. University of Toronto Press.
Bennett, A. (2015). Geography of nostalgia: Global and local perspectives on modernity. Routledge.
Bernhard, M., & Kubik, J. (2014). Twenty years after communism: The politics of memory and commemoration. Oxford University Press.
Bolin, G. (2017). Media generations: Experience, identity and mediatised social change. Routledge.
Bond, L., & Rapson, J. (2014). Introduction. In L. Bond & J. Rapson (Eds.), The transcultural turn: Interrogating memory between and beyond borders (pp. 1–17). De Gruyter.
Collins, R. (2004). Interaction ritual chains. Princeton University Press.
Corning, A., & Schuman, H. (2015). Generations and collective memory. University of Chicago Press.
de Certeau, M. (1984). The practice of everyday life (S. Rendall, Trans.). University of California Press.
de Kosnik, A. (2016). Rogue archives: Digital cultural memory and media fandom. MIT Press.
Etzioni, A. (2004). Holidays and rituals: Neglected seedbeds of virtue. In A. Etzioni & J. Bloom (Eds.), We are what we celebrate: Understanding holidays and rituals (pp. 3–38). New York University Press.
Flaherty, M. G. (2014). Afterword. In A. Dalsgaard, M. Frederiksen, S. Højlund, & L. Meinert (Eds.), Ethnographies of youth and temporalities: Time objectified (pp. 209–220). Temple University Press.
Gillis, J. R. (1996). A world of their own making: Myth, ritual, and the quest for family values. Basic Books.
Haux, D., Dominicé, A., & Raspotnik, J. (2020). A cultural memory of the digital age. International Journal for the Semiotics of Law, 34, 839–860. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11196-020-09778-7
Hobsbawm, E., & Ranger, T. (Eds.). (1992). The invention of tradition. Cambridge University Press.
Hoskins, A. (2011). Media, memory, metaphor: Remembering the connective turn. Parallax, 17(4), 19–31.
Hoskins, A. (2015). Popular memory: Commemoration, participatory culture and democratic citizenship. University of Southern California Press.
Hoskins, A. (Ed.). (2018). Digital memory studies: Media pasts in transition. Routledge.
Hoskins, A. (2024). AI and memory. Memory, Mind and Society, 3, e18, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1017/mem.2024.18
Huyssen, A. (2003). Present pasts: Urban palimpsests and the politics of memory. Stanford University Press.
Kazemi, A. (2022). Safar-e naariyaha [The journey of theories]. Tehran, Iran: Agar.
Malksoo, M. (Ed.). (2023). Handbook on the politics of memory. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Maurantino, N. (2023). New media memory. In M. Malksoo (Ed.), Handbook on the Politics of Memory. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Meyer, E. (2008). Memory and politics. In A. Erll & A. Nünning (Eds.), Cultural memory studies: An international and interdisciplinary handbook (pp. 173–181). De Gruyter.
Misztal, B. A. (2003). Theories of social remembering. Open University Press.
Misztal, B. A. (2004). The sacralization of memory. European Journal of Social Theory, 7(1), 67–84.
Neiger, M., Meyers, O., & Zandberg, E. (Eds.). (2011). On media memory: Collective memory in a new media age. Palgrave Macmillan.
Niemeyer, K. (Ed.). (2014). Media and nostalgia: Yearning for the past, present and future. Palgrave Macmillan.
Olick, J. K. (2007). The politics of regret: On collective memory and historical responsibility. Routledge.
Rosa, H. (2019). Šetāb va bīgānegi [Acceleration and alienation] (H. Poursafir, Trans.). Tehran, Iran: Āgah.
Rufer, M. (2012). Politics of memory. Inter-American Wiki: Terms – Concepts – Critical Perspectives. https://www.iai.spk-berlin.de/fileadmin/dokumentenbibliothek/Inter-American_Studies/terms-concepts/politics-of-memory.xml
Saito, H. (2018). The changing culture and politics of commemoration. In L. Grindstaff, M.-C. Mei, & J. R. Hall (Eds.), Routledge handbook of cultural sociology. Routledge.
Soroori Sarabi, A., Arsalani, A., & Toosi, R. (2020). Risk management at hazardous jobs: A new media literacy?. Socio-Spatial Studies, 4(1), 13-24. doi: 10.22034/soc.2020.212126
Soroori Sarabi, A., Zamani, M., Ranjbar, S., Rahmatian, F. (2023). Innovation – But with Risk: The Strategic Role of IT in Business Risk Management. Journal of Cyberspace Studies, 7 (2).
Tomraee, S., Hosseini, S, H., & Toosi, R. (2022) Doctors for AI? A Systematic Review. Socio-Spatial Studies, 6(1).
Zokaei, M.S., & Veisi, S. (2020). Zist-e majazi dar Irān: avātef va xorde farhang-hā dar šabake-hā-ye ejtema’I [Virtual life in Iran: Emotions and subcultures in social networks]. Tehran, Iran: Āgah.
Zokāʾi, M.-S. (2022). Arzeš-hā va sabk-hā-ye zendegī-ye javānān-e īrānī dar nīm qarn-e aīr: tadāvom-hā va gosast-hā [Values and lifestyles of Iranian youth in the past half-century: Continuities and discontinuities]. Social Sciences Quarterly, 99, 47–88.
Send comment about this article
Enter Name.
Enter a valid email address.
Enter a vaid affiliation.
Enter comments (At leaset 10 words)
CAPTCHA Image
Enter Security Code Correctly.

  • Receive Date 26 July 2024
  • Revise Date 02 November 2024
  • Accept Date 19 November 2024