Collective Memory :: essays research papers

Anthony D. Smith who wrote National Identity and Myths of Ethnic Descent discussed how myths are formed and how they can lead to the ethnic regeneration within a group of mint. He associated his ideas on ethnic regeneration with the countries of Turkey, Greece, England, France, and Israel. His ideas clearly draw the steps that are taken to regenerate when people are crop by myths developd sometimes thousands of years ago in such cases as seen by Jews. There were eight steps which all of these nation-states were said to take hold followed, in order to be where they are today. Of these eight steps I do not agree with the one that says, they designate a distance and time for their action. I do not feel that a specific time is designated. Instead I feel that the time is determined at a moments notice. This can be seen presently when referring to the prospective state of Palestine. The date for this states declaration of existence has changed numerous times during the past times few years.Yael Zerubavel writes about Collective remembering and Zionist reconstruction of the past. I do not agree with the historian that Zerubavel talks about in his writings. I feel that Halbwachs view of history expressed as bodied memory. Collective memory is what gives a society is goals that they must seek in the future. It also creates a bond between the people of that society. As a result it leads to these people wanting to settle together in a nation-state. The Zionist movement is an example of something caused by collective memory. Through generations the Diaspora and other events in the lives of Jews have been passed on, which eventually led Jews to create a homeland in 1948.