Memory Is A Social Phenomenon

Memory is a powerful concept. Often when an individual undergoes a traumatic situation, the ramifications of these actions seep into an individualfs psyche unknowingly. In effect this passes through memory and becomes sub-consciously buried within a personfs behavioural patterns generally. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink explores the concept of a young mans subconscious desire for a woman whom he gcanft remember to forgeth (1Memento) as she is so deeply inlaid within his soul.

Memory is a set of cognitive processes that allow us to remember past information (retrospective memory) and future obligations (prospective memory) so we can navigate our lives. The strength of our memory can be influenced by the connections we make through different cognitive faculties as well as by the amount of time we spend devoting to learning specific material across different points in time. New memories are created every time we remember specific event, which results in retrospective memories changing over time. Memory recall can be affected retrospectively such as seeing increased recall in the presence of contextual cues or false recall of information following leading questions. Memory also includes the process

Lest we forget” Baker’s attitude leads his mother to question, “Does history remember more than memory?” Here, rhetorical questioning indicates the way in which private memories are often abandoned in favour of public representations of historical events. The public representation of the Indigenous history is the one written from the European perspective, whilst the private memories, from the Indigenous perspective, similarly to Genia’s, are often forgotten or not validated. However, Baker soon comes to realise that these memories of his mother are just as valuable, if not more, than those of his father. He acknowledges that; “Unlike my father, she could never show her children the scars on her arm; hers were invisible, numbered in the days and years of her stolen childhood”. Through metaphysical imagery, Baker, and ultimately the audience, recognise the eloquence and value of Genia’s memories in shaping a voice and persona that, although equally valid to those of other survivors, has not been publicly recognised.

Every act of remembering is also, intrinsically, an act of forgetting. Giving preference to particular details of an event lessens the immediacy of others. Thus, memory is its own, unique narrative culled from an almost endless sea of details present, and sometimes not present, in the original event. Memory is the past, reformulated and interpreted through the lens of the present (Huyssen 1995). When an event is commemorated through a physical act of memory, the narrowing of possible details becomes even more finely tuned, limited by the physical scope of possibilities for bodies in a three-dimensional space.

Memories are a powerful force within people’s lives. They encourage, explain and expose the inner depths of an individual and the reason for who they are. Whether remembrances from past occurrences as children or teens or life altering decisions made regarding career and family, memories continue to have an influence on everyday life. They drive a person forward in current judgments and effects relationships with those surrounding. However, as time progresses memories alter. Either details are forgotten or translated differently than their original happening; memories are subjected to distortion. Consequently, the revision in which people remember recollections of their life’s history can influence the interpretation and their retellings. The correspondence between time and memories is often overlooked as parallel, but the interlocking connection contributes sustainably to everyday life, choices, behaviors and personal relationships. In her photographic series, Mutters Schuhe, Nina Röder explores how “subjectivity and perspective affect the retelling of memories” (Garrett, 2014) through the suggestion that emotions and time can trigger a rebirth of perspectives concerning memories.

Memories can in a way define who we are and how we progress through life. Memories can be a pathway to either follow the straight and narrow or to have us decide which fork of the road to take. Past memories can help to identify a person and can effect the future that follows. Through the journy of self discovery, Marshall’s Praisesong for the Widow and Danticat’s Breath, Eyes, Memory suggest one must relive past and present memories to find their true identity in the future.

When humanity commits atrocious acts, it is the job of the survivors to ensure that these events are remembered and the victims honored. The construction of memory through various methods of remembrance – whether it be memoirs, films or museums – is a delicate art as perceptions can be easily skewed. A biased perspective has the capacity to completely alter the way an event is viewed. The War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh about the Vietnam War for example is more propaganda than history and dishonors the memory of the brutal time. Likewise, when constructing the memory of the Cambodian Genocide, one must strive to portray an honest representation and approach it from many sides. Only by receiving a story from various sources can such an important

In this paper I will revisit Russon’s definition of memory, and three of the aspects that he presents as important in the memory process. I will also argue that our body play an important role for our remembering, as does the objects we interact with. As well as present my position on Russon description of memory demonstrating that Russon’s description is indeed relatable to the actual human experience.

While in Burundi, there are many examples that show that Deo has developed a Western perspective of memory. In the introduction Kidder presents the difference between the Burundi and Western perspectives. Deo reminds Kidder that while in Burundi they do not speak of those who have died and tragedies. This reminder outlines the Burundi perspective on memories. This displays that Deo is aware of the two perspectives in his life. Furthermore, the reminder to Kidder shows that Deo’s perspective on memory has become very Western. A final example portraying Deo’s more Western perspective is his willingness to share his story with Kidder. They travel through Burundi and Deo points out places that he went while on the run, prior to coming to New York. In visiting these places, Deo relives his memories, but instead of keeping them in, he shares the burden of them with Kidder. For example, when they visited the hospital in Mutaho, which was were Deo was when first began his escape. On this trip, Deo pointed out many areas to Kidder that had significant meaning during his escape. Deo would say to Kidder, “This is a nightmare area. Many militiamen came from here.” He, also, shared through nonverbal cues. When they were in the hospital, Deo shared a specific look with Kidder, then looked at the door they were in front of. Kidder understood that Deo was showing him the room in which he had hid under the bed, praying he would survive. This shows Deo’s Western perspective on memory because he willingly shared the pasted atrocities he lived through, verbally and nonverbally, with Kidder. This portrays the final stage of Deo’s evolution of memory. His perspective on memory had becoming very

Memory – what it is, how it works, and how it might be manipulated – has long been a subject of curious fascination. Remembering, the mind-boggling ability in which the human brain can conjure up very specific, very lucid, long-gone episodes from any given point on the timeline of our lives, is an astounding feat. Yet, along with our brain’s ability of remembrance comes also the concept of forgetting: interruptions of memory or “an inability of consciousness to make present to itself what it wants” (Honold, 1994, p. 2). There is a very close relationship between remembering and forgetting; in fact, the two come hand-in-hand. A close reading of Joshua Foer’s essay, “The End of Remembering”, and Susan Griffin’s piece, “Our Secret”, directs us

The two concepts that I resonated with are Memory and the Psychodynamic theory. Starting with the Psychodynamic theory is an approach to psychology that studies the psychological forces underlying human behavior, feelings, and emotions, and how they may relate to early childhood experience. This theory is most closely associated with the work of Sigmund Freud, and with psychoanalysis, a type of psychotherapy that attempts to explore the patient’s unconscious thoughts and emotions so that the person is better able to understand him or herself. The second one is Memory; understanding how memory works will help you improves your memory. Which is an essential key to attaining knowledge. Memory is one of the important cognitive processes. Memory involves remembering and forgetting. I chose the two concepts because throughout the class they stood out to the most. Understanding the conscious, subconscious mind and also memory. I’m interested in understanding the human behavior.

Although visual art is looked upon differently by all, everyone has a either a favorite piece or at least something that catches their eye. Personally, I don’t have a piece of art that I would label my absolute favorite, but during a Spanish research project found that Salvador Dali’s work really stood out. “The Persistence of Memory” painted in 1931 by Dali, a highly renowned surrealist painter, is among the most interesting works I have ever seen. Even though the painting itself is rather simple in quality at first glance, what Dali’s must have been thinking about while creating this work is strikingly complex. The painting is attractive to me because it deals with the concept of time, something

Before considering whether or not memories affect our reality, it may be useful to offer a definition of the term ‘reality’. If we are to

Memory makes us. It is, to an extent, a collection of unique and personal experiences that we, as individuals, have amassed over our lifetime. It is what connects us to our past and what shapes our present and the future. If we are unable remember the what, when, where, and who of our everyday lives, our level of functioning would be greatly impacted. Memory is defined as or recognized as the “sum or total of what we remember.” Memory provides us the ability to learn and adjust to or from prior experiences. In addition, memory or our ability to remember plays an integral role in the building and sustaining of relationships. Additionally, memory is also a process; it is how we internalize and store our external environment and experiences. It entails the capacity to remember past experiences, and the process of recalling previous experiences, information, impressions, habits and skills to awareness. It is the storage of materials learned and/or retained from our experiences. This fact is demonstrated by the modification, adjustment and/or adaptation of structure or behavior. Furthermore, we as individuals, envision thoughts and ideas of the present through short-term memory, or in our working memory, we warehouse past experiences and learned values in long-term memory, also referred to as episodic or semantic memory. Most importantly, memory is malleable and it is intimately linked to our sense of identity and where we believe we belong in the world.

Our human condition is defined by mortality, contingency, and discontentment. This reality combined with the new outlooks of relationships between our lives and the objects that surround us in our world, have caused authors in the twentieth century to question traditional Western thought. In Remembrance of Things Past, Marcel Proust extends these comparisons to include one's use of memory and