Theoretical and Methodological Approaches to Collective Memory Analysis in Memory Studies
In: Diskurs, Band 6, Heft 3, S. 46-63
ISSN: 2658-7777
Introduction. Collective memory research helps to uncover the deeply imbedded meaning of the past in the present, to follow the identity development process in various communities, to find narrative structures that define societal foundations. Simultaneously, such research can be complicated from the empirical point of view. The scientific novelty of the given article lies in the fact that theoretical and methodological approaches to collective memory research have not yet been summarized and systematized up to this date. The goal of this research is to provide such a review and determine the most valid research methods in Memory Studies. The relevance of the presented research is determined by the fact that the proposition of a methodological apparatus for Memory Studies is necessary for the finalization of its formation as an independent discipline.Methodology and sources. Collective memory theory served as the theoretical-methodological foundation of the conducted research, it allowed to view the past not as a set given but as an object undergoing interpretation and representation. Such academics as M. Halbwachs, M. Bloch, A. Warburg, Jan and Aleida Assmann, J. Olick, A. Erll and others developed the following theory. A range of scientists dedicated their work to the discovery of collective memory research methods, among them M. Bulanova, W. Kansteiner, A. Erll, B. Zelizer, A. Confino, T. Kapitonova, V. Belokrylova, etc. J. Olick made a considerable impact into the understanding of the given issue, having suggested to view memory as a process developing in time, which required to define the methods of analysis that would be able to take this characteristic into account. However, a complete list as well as a general system and classification of methods have not been developed in the academic literature up to the present day. Having appeared at an intersection of various humanities and social sciences, Memory Studies adopts empirical research methods from Sociology, Political science, Culture Studies, Psychology, Media Studies, Visual Studies, etc. In course of the presented research, the relevant empirical research works in the Memory Studies field by international and Russian authors have been analyzed, we considered the research carried out by Ch. Lindt, A. Vasil'ev, T. Emel'yanova, A. Timofeeva, V. Kasamara, E. Hakokongas, E. Keightley, M. Meyers, B. Zelizer, and others. That allowed us to determine the most frequently applied collective memory research methods, to compile their overview and develop the author classification of the used methods.Results and discussion. An overview of key theoretical approaches to collective memory research was provided. They include functional, phenomenological, post-structural, social-historical and information approaches. J. Olick enriched the list of five theoretical approaches suggested by M. Bulanova by introducing the process-relativist approach to studying collective memory. The main research methods applied in Memory Studies were outlined; moreover, a classification of key disciplinary traditions that academics turn to in memory research was introduced featuring sociological, psychological, information, cultural and historical traditions as well as a separate branch of Computer Sciences.Conclusion. As a result of the conducted research, a systematic overview and an author's classification of theoretical-methodological approaches to collective memory analysis were introduced. The findings of the given research can be implemented by a range of academics working on the issues of group identity building, ways of working with contested past, historical events representation in the present, the functioning of memory communities, etc. The defining of the methodological apparatus of Memory studies serves as a moving force for the effective development, generalization and bringing to a common understanding the further research of collective memory structures formation and distribution as well as concepts related to it.
