Generations and Collective Memory
Amy Corning ; Howard Schuman
- When
- discussing
- large
- social
- trends
- or
- experiences,
- we
- tend
- to
- group
- people
- into
- generations.
- But
- what
- does
- it
- mean
- to
- be
- part
- of
- a
- generation,
- and
- what
- gives
- that
- group
- meaning
- and
- coherence?
- It's
- collective
- memory,
- say
- Amy
- Corning
- and
- Howard
- Schuman,
- and
- in
- Generations
- and
- Collective
- Memory,
- they
- draw
- on
- an
- impressive
- range
- of
- research
- to
- show
- how
- generations
- share
- memories
- of
- formative
- experiences,
- and
- how
- understanding
- the
- way
- those
- memories
- form
- and
- change
- can
- help
- us
- understand
- society
- and
- history.Their
- key
- finding—built
- on
- historical
- research
- and
- interviews
- in
- the
- United
- States
- and
- seven
- other
- countries
- (including
- China,
- Japan,
- Germany,
- Lithuania,
- Russia,
- Israel,
- and
- Ukraine)—is
- that
- our
- most
- powerful
- generational
- memories
- are
- of
- shared
- experiences
- in
- adolescence
- and
- early
- adulthood,
- like
- the
- 1963
- Kennedy
- assassination
- for
- those
- born
- in
- the
- 1950s
- or
- the
- fall
- of
- the
- Berlin
- Wall
- for
- young
- people
- in
- 1989.
- But
- there
- are
- exceptions
- to
- that
- rule,
- and
- they're
- significant:
- Corning
- and
- Schuman
- find
- that
- epochal
- events
- in
- a
- country,
- like
- revolutions,
- override
- the
- expected
- effects
- of
- age,
- affecting
- citizens
- of
- all
- ages
- with
- a
- similar
- power
- and
- lasting
- intensity.The
- picture
- Corning
- and
- Schuman
- paint
- of
- collective
- memory
- and
- its
- formation
- is
- fascinating
- on
- its
- face,
- but
- it
- also
- offers
- intriguing
- new
- ways
- to
- think
- about
- the
- rise
- and
- fall
- of
- historical
- reputations
- and
- attitudes
- toward
- political issues.
