SOC 324 Memory and Identity (Not offered 2006-2007; to be offered 2007-2008)
Our sense of self is inextricably tied to our understanding of our past, both as
individuals and as members of society. This sense of origins, however, is far
from natural; it itself has its origins in the debates and politics of the time, and
evolves under an array of influences. This course analyzes discourses of collective and individual identity and the mechanism involved in the formulation of
the individual's sense of his or her place in the world. Topics include: nations
and nationalism, representations of individual and collective pasts, collective
memory and practices of remembrance, nostalgia and selective forgetting, narratives of childhood and a "golden age," the invention of tradition, museums and
memorials, biography and memoirs, narratives of progression, and the making
of national and family histories.
Format: seminar. Requirements: extensive class participation, class presentation,
several short papers and a research project.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 19 (expected: 15).