The vague and complex character of collective memory. On The Collective Memory Reader

Abstract

In this paper I try to show the complex character of collective memory. I claim that now collective memory seems to acquire global character since its subject is Humanity. This transformation (related to the Holocaust itself as a symbol of collective memory, since the late 1970?s) associates collective memory with the analysis of the historical trauma and inspires new investigation of historical events (even of events before the Holocaust, such as the Armenian case).In this context, the concepts of ?generation? and ?transmission? gain centrality.