Influence of Maurice Halbwachs conception of collective memory in modern memory studies (on the examples of papers by J. Assmann and A. Assmann)

Abstract

The article formulates the problem of positioning and adaptation of Maurice Halbwachs conception of collective memory in the papers of J. Assmann and A. Assmann. The text provides the analysis of scientific monograph on the subject of embedding the conception of collective memory inside the fabric of the narrative and its using analysis of memorial culture phenomenon in different historical period. J. Assmann`s papers offer the strategy of Halbwachs`s ideas complex actualisation by means of general review of crucial aspects of French sociologist texts, that further it allows him to apply the researcher’s achievements for his own analysis. A. Assmann instead doesn’t do ideas` review. She supports her own theses by Halbwachs`s concept statements. The distinction of approaches affords to trace Halbwachs`s position changes inside scholar discourse as specific way of describing socio-cultural memory legalizer. Also it shows Halbwachs`s ideas flexibility which can be used with a little modification not only with communicative memory, that Halbwachs defined as only form of collective memory, but with external storage of information about the past. These observations allow to trace scholars methods to work with texts by pioneer of separate discipline, and show the research literature forms of existing within specific papers.