collective memory
Sign in to saveAlso known as collective memories, public memory, public memories, social memory, social memories
shared pool of memories, knowledge and information of a social group that is significantly associated with the group's identity
Wikidata facts
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- topic's main category
- Category:Collective memory
- facet of
- collective consciousness
- has characteristic
- perspective
- significant person
- Maurice Halbwachs
- discoverer or inventor
- Maurice Halbwachs
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Encyclopedic overview
Collective memory is the shared pool of memories, knowledge and information of a social group that is significantly associated with the group's identity. The English phrase "collective memory" and the equivalent French phrase mémoire collective appeared in the second half of the nineteenth century. The philosopher and sociologist Maurice Halbwachs analyzed and advanced the concept of the collective memory in the book Les cadres sociaux de la mémoire (1925).
Collective memory can be constructed, shared, and passed on by large and small social groups. Examples of these groups can include nations, generations, communities, among others.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “collective memory” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.