Collective Memory and Its Research - YMH522

• Title: Collective Memory and Its Research
• Guaranteed by: Programme Historical Sociology (24-HS)
• Faculty: Faculty of Humanities
• Actual: from 2025 to 2026
• Semester: summer
• E-Credits: 4
• Examination process: summer s.:
• Hours per week, examination: summer s.:2/0, C [HT]
• Extent per academic year: 26 [hours]
• Capacity: 20 / unknown (20)
• Min. number of students: unlimited
• 4EU+: no
• Virtual mobility / capacity: no
• State of the course: taught
• Language: English
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Level: basic
• Note: course can be enrolled in outside the study plan; enabled for web enrollment; priority enrollment if the course is part of the study plan
• Guarantor: prof. PhDr. Stanislav Holubec, Ph.D. et Ph.D.; Adam Coman, Ph.D.
• Teacher(s): Adam Coman, Ph.D.
• Class: Courses available to incoming students
• Co-requisite : {The course under this code is intended for MA level students. If a course is shared, BA students may register for the bachelor’s version of the course, identified by a course code beginning with “YB".}
• Incompatibility : YBLS043, YMH0222, YMH1222
• Is incompatible with: YMH1222, YMH165, YBLS043, YMH065, YMH0222

Annotation

The course presents the essential paradigms of collective memory research. Besides French and German authors that extensively influenced the discourse of collective memory, such as Maurice Halbwachs, Pierre Nora, Jan Assmann and others, the representatives of more Euro-Atlantic school of thinking are also presented (e. g. Jeffrey C. Alexander). The seminar further presents these concepts in particular instances and exposes various research agendas of collective memory studies. The main purpose of the seminar is to familiarize students with various possible approaches to collective memory and through concrete examples highlight the topical relevance of collective memory research in today’s social sciences. Students finish the course by writing a paper on the field of collective memory, employing, as much as possible, data and sources from their MA thesis research, i.e. analyzing them specifically through the approaches to collective memory presented throughout the course.

Last update: Coman Adam, Ph.D. (22.03.2022)

Syllabus

Lessons:

1.     Introduction

2.     Halbwachs, The Collective Memory, pp. 44-49 and 78-88

3.     Pierre Nora - Between memory and history

4.     Jeffery C. Alexander: "On the social construction of moral universals", pp. 196-221, in: Cultural Trauma and collective identity

5.     Collective memory and nationalism: Hobasbawm – "Inventing traditions", in: the invention of tradition 

6.     Politics of memory: Bernhard, M. and Kubik J. “The Politics and Culture of Memory Regimes”, in: Twenty Years after Communism

7.     Ostalgie: Berdahl - Ostalgie

8.     Assmann - Collective memory and cultural identity

9.     Zerubavel – time maps, introduction

10.  Technology and memory: Hutton, Cultural Memory: From the Threshold of Literacy to the Digital Age

11.  Media and memory

12. Conclusion

Attendance and participation obligatory.

Use of AI is strictly prohibited.

Last update: Baláž Picková Monika, Mgr. (27.02.2026)