The American flag became a collective totemic object that provided a connection to the collective effervescent experiences, symbolizing the solidarity of the “American clan”. Across the country, individuals left spontaneous groups and needed a totemic object to maintain the sense of solidarity and unity. Numerous participants discussed the sense of community that existed among the diverse individuals. People gathered throughout the day and night, held candlelight vigils and marked the area with flowers, candles, posters, chalk drawings, and flags. Spontaneous memorial activities erupted throughout the United States. Although Durkheim claimed that the collective effervescence provided the transmittal of the past to the present, his emphasis on collective thought was based upon individual memory and the celebrations and totems that triggered those memories.Īlthough Durkheim’s work examined traditional societies, it is interesting to consider the events following the attacks of Septemin this context. He believed that totems, natural items that have been deemed sacred, held immense power and suggested that they provided individuals with a device to individually remember the unity of the effervescent group experience. Since the collective effervescence experience required the physical gathering of the community, it was important for groups to devise methods of extending that unity when the group disbanded. Durkheim stated that collective thought required individuals to physically join together to create a common experience that was shared by the group. His study of traditional religious traditions suggested that rituals transmitted traditional beliefs, values and norms and that shared rituals provided a sense of “collective effervescence”, a transcendence of the individual and the profane into a united sacred group. Although never using the term “collective memory”, Durkheim noted that societies require continuity and connection with the past to preserve social unity and cohesion. I use the term ‘collective memory’ to describe the stories, artifacts, food and drink, symbols, traditions, images, and music that form the ties that bind members together.Ĭollective memory discourse began with the work of Emile Durkheim.

Regardless of the size and complexity of the social group, the group needs to construct and maintain an identity that unites its members. The social group may be an Andersonian “imaginary community” that is based on nationalism. The social group may be a small, cohesive unit (like a family) whose members are all known. This is not to say that liberals might not say the same thing, particularly if they are appealing to an ideal or value which was once embraced by the culture but has since fallen by the wayside and now needs to be revivified and embraced.Įither way, whether from the mouth of a liberal or a conservative, cultural amnesia has a negative connotation, and could be a rallying cry of someone who claims the culture at large is missing something important.īy the way, the simplest and best definition of culture I've ever come across:Ĭulture is the way we do things around here.Ĭultural amnesia, then, would be revealed in a widespread ignorance of what used to be important but has now fallen into desuetude.A social group’s identity is constructed with narratives and traditions that are created to give its members a sense of an community. Generally speaking (i.e., painting with a very broad brush), conservatives are more likely to miss the 'good old days.' On the other hand, liberals are more likely to embrace change, pointing out that the 'good old days' were not necessarily that good, just old! To them, it's time to get with it, to go with the flow, and so on.

The expression 'cultural amnesia' would likely come from the lips of someone who bemoans the tendency of some people to forget about their roots, particularly the values, customs, mores, taboos, and ideals which may have once been embraced by a people-group as a whole but have now been forgotten and replaced by different customs, mores, taboos, and ideals.

Define social amnesia