Cristian Popa

P18: Mapping Literature and Cultural Memory

Prof. Dr. Reinfandt: Concepts, Methods, Theories

P18: Mapping Literature and Cultural Memory

Shared history and common The making of collective

identity as catalysts for stories = heritage
cultural memory

Literature in time: Old Irish “Memory is the presence of the

poem as a bridge between past
past.”
and present  Cultural context
allows texts to acquire new Memory of society (culturally
meaning. based)
Autobiography (creative writing),
Memoirs

For memory to be shared, communication is required, which is why intergenerational

memories rely on family and friends.

Individual experience, Prosthetic memory Cultural memory 

written memoirs, video
testimony  move from
private to public sphere
captures narratives without
the need of undergoing
events on a personal level
accumulation of individual
memories and narratives of
a common past, shared
collectively

Narrating Events (experiential narration as

a key element for prosthetic memory)
Creative writers, narrative techniques,
fictional elements  historical novel
(Tolstoy’s War and Peace)
Traumatic realism
Dynamics of cultural memory =
reproduction and transformation of stories
Remediation (the story of Anne Frank)
Memory sites
Plurimedial network
Cristian Popa
P18: Mapping Literature and Cultural Memory
Prof. Dr. Reinfandt: Concepts, Methods, Theories

Literature and ‘unforgetting’ Cultural memory  mutual “cross-

“Cultural memory and cultural amnesia fertilisation”
are two sides of the same coin.” Multidirectionality
Art is an important catalyst of cultural Literature creates cultural memory while
memory dealing with the remembering and un-
forgetting of history

Literary canon, heritage, preservation of valued material, collective identity

Canonical works  “timeless” value, can speak across generation as well as cultures.

Nationalism can lead to a sense of sharing a common past, present, and future. However, it
also hinders literature and cultural memory to cross national borders. Therefore,
transnationalism emerged as means of producing memories outside the framework of nation-
states.
In conclusion, literature works as a mediator between past and present, thus creating a
cultural memory which goes beyond physical borders.
Cristian Popa
P18: Mapping Literature and Cultural Memory
Prof. Dr. Reinfandt: Concepts, Methods, Theories

Work Cited

Brillenburg Wurth, Kiene and Rigney, Ann. The Life of Texts: An Introduction to Literary

Studies, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2019.

https://doi.org/10.1515/9789048551903