Writing the History of Memory

How objective are our history books? This addition to the Writing History series examines the critical role that memory plays in the writing of history. This book includes: - Essays from an international team of historians, bringing together analysis of forms of public history such as museums, exhibitions, memorials and speeches - Coverage of the ancient world to the present, on topics such as oral history and generational and collective memory - Two key case studies on Holocaust memorialisation and the memory of CommunismTable of ContentIntroduction - Bill Niven (Nottingham Trent University, UK) and Stefan Berger (Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum, Germany) 1. Memory and History in the Ancient World - Gordon Shrimpton (Professor Emeritus, University of Victoria, Canada) 2. Memory and History in the Middle Ages - Kimberly Rivers (University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, USA) 3. History-writing and ‘Collective Memory’ - Mary Fulbrook (UCL, UK) 4. Memory as both Source and Subject of Study: The Transformations of Oral History - Lynn Abrams (University of Glasgow, UK) 5. Generation and Memory: A Critique of the Ethical and Ideological Implications of Generational Narration - Wulf Kansteiner (Binghamton University, USA) 6. Writing the History of National Memory - Stefan Berger and Bill Niven 7. Lieux de mémoire - A European Transfer Story - Benoît Majerus (University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg) 8. On the Memory of Communism in Eastern and Central Europe - Attila Pok (Resarch Centre for Humanities of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary) 9. Holocaust Memoriography and the Impact of Memory on the Historiography of the Holocaust - Peter Carrier (Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research, Germany) 10. History and Memorialisation - Richard Crownshaw (Goldsmiths, University of London, UK)Review QuoteThe collection includes essays on oral history, generational and collective memory, and memorialisation, each one with a list of further reading, making the book an excellent point of entry into the field.Biographical NoteStefan Berger is Professor of Social History and Director of the Institute of Social Movements and the House for the History of the Ruhr at the Ruhr University Bochum, Germany. Bill Niven is Professor of Contemporary German History at Nottingham Trent University, UK. He is author (with JKA Thomaneck) of Dividing and Uniting Germany (2000), and of Facing the Nazi Past (2001) and The Buchenwald Child (2007). He is also the editor of Germans as Victims and has published widely on many areas of post-1918 German history.How objective are our history books? In this addition to the Writing History series, Writing the History of Memory examines the critical role that memory plays in the writing of history.The Writing History series publishes accessible overviews of particular fields in history, focusing on the practical application of theory in historical writing. Books in the series succinctly explain central concepts to demonstrate the ways in which they have informed effective historical writing. They analyse key historical texts and their producers within their institutional arrangement, and as part of a wider social discourse. The series' holistic approach means students benefit from an enhanced understanding of how to negotiate the contours of successful historical writing. Series editors: Stefan Berger (Ruhr University Bochum, Germany), Heiko Feldner (Cardiff University, UK) and Kevin Passmore (Cardiff University, UK)This is the latest title in the highly regarded Writing History seriesFirst book-length treatment of memory from a historiographical perspectiveIdeal for courses on the history of memory and public history, both growing areas in the disciplineThe editors and contributors are all well-known experts in their field