Page 53 - Dark Shades of Istria
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3.3 Linking Memory with Culture and Politics
based struggles that took place during and immediately after wwi i (cer-
tain disagreements emerged even earlier) on the Balkan Peninsula, which
then re-emerged with the conflict in the 1990s.
3.3 Linking Memory with Culture and Politics
‘For historians, the concept of culture has become sort of a compass that
governs questions of interpretation, explanation, and method’ (Confino,
1997, p. 1386). The subjects explored are the memories of people with
their own personal experience as well as cultural knowledge shared by
successive generations, which includes books, films, museums, cemeter-
ies, commemorations and suchlike (Confino, 1997, p. 1386; Jerše, 2017, p.
249; Misztal, 2003, p. 6; Nora, 1989, p. 12). Nora (1989, pp. 18–19) high-
lighted three senses of the memory: material (e.g. archival material), sym-
bolic (e.g. minute of silence), and functional (e.g. testaments, veterans re-
union).
The past provides a symbolic framework for individuals and groups,
by which they conceptualise their existence, which is important for em-
igrants, especially when they are dealing with bad memories (D’Alessio,
2012a). In this context, contemporary obsession with remembrance and
testimony of the past is reasonable (Wieviorka, 1999) and sets the mem-
ory as one of the main modern pillars of the identity discourse. Collective
memory (collected memory)¹² is a composite of more individual mem-
ories, which usually means a glance into a layer of the community, typ-
ically towards those who operate with means of cultural production or
whose opinions are highly appreciated (Olick, 2007, p. 23; Širok, 2012,
p. 139). Confino (1997, p. 1399) deals with the multiplicity of memory as
something useful from the methodological (the question of recording)
and content (avoiding artificial distinctions) aspect, as well as in think-
ing about the place and society as a whole. On the other hand, the less
memory is practised collectively, the more it happens on the individual
level (Nora, 1989, p. 16). In any case, collective identities must be under-
stood as fictions in which memory/commemorative practice is linked to
the historical past and the fiction of contemporary identity (Nora, 1989,
p. 24; Širok, 2012, p. 147; Wolff, 2006, p. 116). Manipulation and a selective
perception of the past are very common (Ćurković Nimac, 2015, pp. 35–
¹² Terms collected memory and collective memory can not be equated. The collected memo-
ries are less interconnected, they can even be different or opposing. According to Benčić
(2016, p. 3), some other memory-related terms are also in use.
53
based struggles that took place during and immediately after wwi i (cer-
tain disagreements emerged even earlier) on the Balkan Peninsula, which
then re-emerged with the conflict in the 1990s.
3.3 Linking Memory with Culture and Politics
‘For historians, the concept of culture has become sort of a compass that
governs questions of interpretation, explanation, and method’ (Confino,
1997, p. 1386). The subjects explored are the memories of people with
their own personal experience as well as cultural knowledge shared by
successive generations, which includes books, films, museums, cemeter-
ies, commemorations and suchlike (Confino, 1997, p. 1386; Jerše, 2017, p.
249; Misztal, 2003, p. 6; Nora, 1989, p. 12). Nora (1989, pp. 18–19) high-
lighted three senses of the memory: material (e.g. archival material), sym-
bolic (e.g. minute of silence), and functional (e.g. testaments, veterans re-
union).
The past provides a symbolic framework for individuals and groups,
by which they conceptualise their existence, which is important for em-
igrants, especially when they are dealing with bad memories (D’Alessio,
2012a). In this context, contemporary obsession with remembrance and
testimony of the past is reasonable (Wieviorka, 1999) and sets the mem-
ory as one of the main modern pillars of the identity discourse. Collective
memory (collected memory)¹² is a composite of more individual mem-
ories, which usually means a glance into a layer of the community, typ-
ically towards those who operate with means of cultural production or
whose opinions are highly appreciated (Olick, 2007, p. 23; Širok, 2012,
p. 139). Confino (1997, p. 1399) deals with the multiplicity of memory as
something useful from the methodological (the question of recording)
and content (avoiding artificial distinctions) aspect, as well as in think-
ing about the place and society as a whole. On the other hand, the less
memory is practised collectively, the more it happens on the individual
level (Nora, 1989, p. 16). In any case, collective identities must be under-
stood as fictions in which memory/commemorative practice is linked to
the historical past and the fiction of contemporary identity (Nora, 1989,
p. 24; Širok, 2012, p. 147; Wolff, 2006, p. 116). Manipulation and a selective
perception of the past are very common (Ćurković Nimac, 2015, pp. 35–
¹² Terms collected memory and collective memory can not be equated. The collected memo-
ries are less interconnected, they can even be different or opposing. According to Benčić
(2016, p. 3), some other memory-related terms are also in use.
53
