The Work of Memory in the Project of Cosmopolitan Education (original) (raw)
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Philosophy and Social Criticism , 2023
Departing from what Levey and Sznaider (2002) in their seminal work 'Memory Unbound' refer to as 'cosmopolitan memory' that emerges as one of the fundamental forms 'collective memories take in the age of globalization', this article will consider the underlying ethical implications of global memory formation that have yet to be adequately theorized. Since global disseminations of local memory cultures and the implicit canonization of its traumas are intimately related to the concept of archive, I will first focus on what Derrida (1996) in Archive Fever calls 'archival violence' and will show its inherent relation to the formation of cosmopolitan memory. Another related concept that I will use and that will problematize the transformation of living, embodied memory into archival, cultural memory upon which the formation of cosmopolitan memory depends is the witness. Using Agamben's writing (2002) in this context that in Remnants of Auschwitz focuses on the foundational (im)possibilities of bearing witness, I will show that this transformation that determines the very possibility of cosmopolitan memory is far from unproblematic and readily accessible as Levy and Sznaider seem to assume. What will emerge as the most distinctive concern of global memory formation is the ethical material of difference as that which both makes its imperatives historically and politically exigent and that which signifies the difficulties of its unified articulation. Solidarity with the suffering of the other that mobilizes the very formation of cosmopolitan memory is also what should solicit vigilance against the universalistic ritualizations of its prerogatives.
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A remembrance can be oral, written or visual and reflects the behavior of memory, which proceeds by associations, in "leaps and bounds", remembering what it wants to remember. If memory becomes a "documented culture" or a culture "organized in a social memory", then individual memory becomes historical and shared, it becomes a strong element of the identity in which it was imprisoned and evokes the memory of all those who lived the same historical period. If individual memory is important in order to live the present, collective memory is just as important, because it strengthens the sense of belonging and reawakens the past. In the current study, the meaning of being the same age and the significance of "generational" remembrance will be explored. Modern technologies provide great ways to remember, because they rekindle old memories and make us appreciate past events of our life. Perhaps the most widespread technology is television, which in ...
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The aim of the article is to present Reyes Mate’s project for a culture of memory. Western culture/tradition tends to erase and blur the traces of crimes (even genocides) in order to achieve/restore peace; however, at the same time, this leads to ignoring the victim’s suffering and, in consequence, helps the wrongdoer. Following Reyes Mate, we argue that a memory of past injustices must constitute an integral part of the present and is the only means to prevent the hermeneutic death of victims. Any project for justice must put victims at the center of reflection. Memory is the beginning of the process that leads to reconciliation, for it makes it possible to redress both the victim and society. Moreover, it enables us to reclaim both the victim and wrongdoer as members of society. A culture of memory would also be a response to the failure of knowledge. Cases of extreme violence elude and transcend cognition; they are not only unthought but also unthinkable. Therefore, memory is a consequence not of discovering but of revealing the past: it follows from the fact that unthought exists and the unthinkable happened, which proves that our knowledge is limited and that we are able [and eager] to “invisibilize” victims’ suffering and depriving injustices of meaning. This is why memory should be the starting point for reflection on a new philosophical program against lassitude and oblivion, as well as on idealistic/anti-realistic and Enlightenment ideas. Memory reveals hidden aspects/dimensions of our reality and becomes at the same time an epistemic imperative and fundamental philosophical category.