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Living Memory vs. Official History; Places of Memory and Rereading Real History in the Light of Nora's Thought

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of Cultural History, Institute of Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran.

10.22059/jhss.2025.402328.473850

Abstract

The present study examines the relationship between “living memory” and “official history” in the context of intellectual, cultural, and identity developments in modern and postmodern societies. The central issue of the research is the conflict between lived memories and informal narratives of marginalized groups and official memory organized by political and cultural institutions; a memory that, in the process of modern nation-building, has transformed history into an ideological tool for representing a homogeneous past and marginalized diverse memories. The present study, drawing on Pierre Nora’s theoretical framework of “lieux de mémoire” (sites of memory) and employing the method of critical discourse analysis, offers a new perspective on history. It explores the relationship between memory, history, and sites of memory, and examines the capacity of these sites to represent, revive, and sustain suppressed memories. The results show that the memory-making policies of modern states-nations have turned history into a tool for consolidating power and dominant discourse by marginalizing the memories of minority groups.in response to this trend," sites of memory"can provide a means to grasp the true past and maintain continuity with it. In addition to reconstructing collective identity, the sites can also offer the opportunity to resist historical amnesia, revive neglected narratives and marginalized voices,thereby preserving plural collective memory against dominant official histories. The main achievement of the research is to highlight the role of memory sites in reviving multilayered narratives, confronting historical homogenization, and providing a critical framework for reinterpreting cultural identity and fostering polyphonic historiography; which allows for a deeper and multidimensional understanding of the process of memory-making and historical representation

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References
 
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Historical Sciences Studies
Volume 18, Issue 1 - Serial Number 41
April 2026
Pages 1-24
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