We usually think of memory as the mental faculty by which individuals acquire, retain, and retrieve knowledge about their own personal experiences – and that is how psychologists usually study it. However, sociologists like Maurice Halbwachs (1877-1945) have also argued for a concept of collective memory – that in some sense groups and societies have memories, just as individuals do. Just as an individual’s memories are an important part of his or her identity, so a society’s memories, as represented (for example) by museums, museum exhibits, and memorials, are an important part of that culture. Individuals’ memories of their experiences may conflict with the larger society’s representations of the same events, and different subgroups within a diverse society may represent, or "remember", common experiences quite differently.

In this seminar, we will begin by examining Halbwach’s concept of collective memory, and then read two more recent books on the topic. Paul Connerton’s How Societies Remember (1989) deals with how collective memories are represented in traditional cultural practices. Steven Dubin’s Displays of Power: Memory and Amnesia in the American Museum (1999) is a powerful depiction of conflicts over "memory" represented by several recent American museum exhibitions concerning the Irish in New York City, African-Americans in Harlem, the artistic depiction of the American West, and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
 

Connerton, P. (1989). How societies remember. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Dubin, S.C. (1999). Displays of power: Memory and amnesia in the American museum. New York: New York University Press.

In the class schedule that follows, both required texts, Connerton (1989) and Dubin (1999), are available at the ASUC Bookstore. The optional readings are also available via special order at your favorite local bookstore, or from on-line booksellers such as Amazon (www.amazon.com).
 

Schacter, D.L. (1996). Searching for memory: The brain, the mind, and the past. New York: Basic Books.

Pillemer, D.B. (1998). Momentous events, vivid memories. Cambridge, Ma.: Harvard University Press.

Halbwachs, M. (1992). On collective memory. Chicago: Univeristy of Chicago Press. Originally published, 1941 and 1952.
 

The course should be taken for a letter grade.

During the semester, students will be required to submit one (1) question or comment on the assigned reading, as a potential springboard for class discussion. These questions or comments should be posted to the bulletin board on the course website by 2:00 PM the Tuesday before each class. No postings are required on days when there are no assigned readings.

Students should be prepared to participate actively in class discussions. Unfortunately, time will not permit us to address each and every posting in class, but the instructor will attempt to respond on the course bulletin board, and other students in the class are invited to do the same.

Postings should (a) be thoughtful and relate directly to the day’s reading assignment; (b) not just be definitional in nature; (c) go beyond the assignment to indicate that the student has read and thought about the material. Grades in Psychology 24:3 are based on class participation, and also on the timeliness and quality of assigned postings to the bulletin board on the course website.
 

John F. Kihlstrom is Professor in the Department of Psychology and a member of both the Institute for Cognitive and Brain Studies and the Institute for Personality and Social Research. He received his PhD in Personality and Experimental Psychopathology from the University of Pennsylvania, and completed a clinical psychology internship at Temple University Health Sciences Center. His research interests focus on cognition in a personal and social context; most of this work involves memory in some way. Before coming to UCB, Kihlstrom held positions in psychology departments at Harvard University (Personality and Developmental Studies), the University of Wisconsin (Social Psychology and Personality), the University of Arizona (Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Science), and Yale University (Cognitive Psychology).
 

This course has a website, which provides a copy of the syllabus, information (including feedback, as it becomes available) about exams, copies of overheads displayed during lectures, and various supplemental materials.

There is also a bulletin board for students and the instructor to exchange information during the semester. Students whose comments and questions are not addressed during class or discussion sections can post them to the bulletin board, and the instructor will try to respond (other students may feel free to chime in, too!).

Students should point their web browsers to the following URL:

This will take you to the course "Welcome Page". Scroll down to the bottom of the page, and follow the instructions for creating an account:

Keep a record of your password, as you will need it to gain access to certain course records, such as your entries in the course gradebook.

Individuals who do not have Internet access from their homes may reach the course website from any computer that has Internet access, including the various workstations in campus libraries and other sites.

Individuals who use an Internet Service Provider other than UCB, such as AOL or Hotmail, may experience some difficulty in accessing the course website. Make sure that Java is enabled on your browser. Make sure that you include the phrase "/index.html" in the URL. Check whether your browser adds a final "/" after the "index.html" phrase (this isn’t strictly necessary, but sometimes this helps). Try reaching the course website through the Psychology Department’s website (click on "Classes and Syllabi"). When you’ve reached the course Welcome Page, make a bookmark.

If you still have problems reaching the course website from home, create an account from a machine on the campus network. Then contact the course instructor, and I’ll do my best to help you solve the problem.
 

January 19: Introduction

No Readings
 

January 26: Principles of Remembering and Forgetting

Connerton, Introduction.

Dubin, Prologue and Acknowledgments.
 

February 2: Classroom Exercise: Collective Memory

No Readings.
 

February 9: Social Memory

Connerton, Chapter 1.
 

February 16: Commemorative Ceremonies

Connerton, Chapter 2.
 

February 23: Bodily Practices

Connerton, Chapter 3.
 

March 1: Collective Memory from a Psychological Point of View

No Readings.
 

March 8: Museums as Contested Sites

Dubin, Chapter 1
 

March 15: Harlem on My Mind

Dubin, Chapter 2.
 

March 22: Gaelic Gotham

Dubin, Chapter 3.
 

March 29: NO CLASS (Spring Recess)
 

April 5: Freud: Conflict and Culture

Dubin, Chapter 4.
 

April 12: The West as America

Dubin, Chapter 5.
 

April 19: Enola Gay

Dubin, Chapter 6.
 

April 26: The Postmodern Exhibition

Dubin, Chapter 7.
 

May 3: Conclusion

No Readings.