CCHU9003 PROJECT DRAFT

Name: Cheng Lok Yan UID: 3035054414 What is the relationship between memory and history? Illustrate your answer with reference to personal memory, collective memory, or both.

W HY CHOOSING THE QUESTION ? The discussion of memory and history, though vague, contains huge importance in the study of history and arts.

A PPROACH To prevent the contentions from falling apart and disorganization, I will enlist a number of questions and areas of discussion, ranging from those of foundational and understanding level (e.g. the function of memory in making history), to more in-depth and academic aspect (e.g. a historians role in assessing memories/ should there be an equilibrium of subjectivity and objectivity when assessing memories in the study of history, and how should it be balanced). In answering and inquiring these questions, case studies of major world historical events in 19th-20th century and everyday history will be addressed as examples. Case studies are as follow: WWI: warfare and battlefield Hiroshima bombings The issue of comfort women during Japanese invasion Tiananmen Incident Hong Kong in 1970s Tangshan Earthquake in 1976 History and corresponding memories lying under different political systems and ideologies: Communist China and Cultural Revolution Totalitarian regimes in 1930s (i.e. Nazi Germany) Holocaust and Jewish execution during WWII

S TRUCTURE AND OUTLINE Its in the history books, the Holocaust. Its just a phrase. And the truth is it happened yesterday. It happened to my mother. I never met my grandmothers or my grandfathers. They were all wiped up in the gas chambers of Nazi Germany. Gene Simmons (1949-), Israeli singer-songwriter, actor

DEFINE MEMORY AND HISTORY

Memory: [Collins Dictionary] The faculty and ability of the mind to store and recall past sensations, thoughts, knowledge, events, impression, etc History: [Collins Dictionary] i/a record of account, often chronological in approach , of past events, developments, etc. ii/the discipline of recording and interpreting past events involving human beings In computer science, memory is a finite storage space for data that includes history of usage, downloads, etc. Philosophy tells us that, by computational theory of mind, computer is comparable to human brain and mind, both functioning in a causal reactive system. If we put the brain and computer in parallel comparison, we shall construct the basic form of relationships between history and memories.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HISTORY, PAST AND MEMORY:

History is more of a secondary production, one of which is processed, analyzed, examined, argued, and interpreted. Memory on the other hand is a primary source, a distinctive and direct stimulation from past and present.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MAKING OF MEMORY AND MAKING OF HISTORY

The value of history in making memory Personal memory that does with the community or the nation, or collective memory often stimulates The value of memories in making history Orientation of memory: Memory as hidden opinions and voices Jewish persecution is a historical memory of the present generation and people fear it in the present day, and thats why those references are so much more powerful. I just understand that better now. -Gregg Easterbrook (1953-), American writer, lecturer

Memory as foundation/ pillar of history: the history of the mass is often the history of collective memories Memory as counter argument to the known history: in the case of any governmentintervened history account, the official story often appears contradictory to the story of insiders (e.g. the case of Korean comfort women). Memories of such served to give a fair and comprehensive account of what really happens Memory as evidence to historical account: Memories of appropriate could prove the trueness and objectiveness of history, both academic and everyday Memory as fillings in history: while history is solid and definite, memories are like soft tissues that connects the bones, giving history texture, richness, and emotions Memory as stimulation to more memories Memory as recollection of people and feelings: through studying the importance of memorials, the output of memories, in

WHOSE MEMORY? WHOSE HISTORY?

Creating collective history with personal memory Giants in history writing their own memoirs or getting people to write their biographies (e.g. Leon Trotskys My Life) to record their memories of their lives. These people often uphold much influence and they were history makers themselves

USE AND MISUSE OF MEMORIES IN HISTORY

Objectivity and subjectivity- does it matter? Who holds the right to filter/ judge as to which memories belong to history and which are not? Does particular of history requires more/ less involvement of memories?

INTO THE FUTURE

Expanding history, expanding memories The increase involvement and consideration of memories into the accounting of history Passing on memories

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Goichi Sashida. A Memoir of the Aromic Bombing. Tokyo, Japan: International Christian University, 2007. Harry James Cargas. Voices from the Holocaust. Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky, 1993. James E. Young. The Texture of Memory: Holocaust Memorials and Meaning. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1993. Luisa Passerini. Memory and Totalitarianism. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 2005. Max Arthur. We will remember them: Voices from the Aftermath of the Great War. London, Great Britain: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2009. Paul Ashton, Hilda Kean. People and their Pasts: Public history today. London, Great Britain: Palgrace Macmillan: 2009. Sangmie Choi Schellstede, Washington Coalition for Comfort Women Issues, Inc. Comfort Women Speak: Testimony by sex slaves of the Japanese Military. United States of America: Holmes & Meier Publishers, Inc., 2000. Suzanna Falgout, Lin Poyer, Laurence M. Carucci. Memories of War: Micronesians in the Pacific War. United States of America: University of Hawaii Press, 2008. Tzvetan Todorov, David Bellos. Hope and Memory: Lessons from the twentieth century. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2000. Yoneyama, Lisa. Hiroshima narratives and the politics of memory. United States of America: Stanford University, 1993