Trajectories of resistance and historical reflections

Abstract

Collective memory, the one-sided and subjective vision the group holds of its own past, plays a central role in defining who we believe we are and what the world is supposed to be. As such, being able to challenge what is said of the past offers the possibility to imagine futures and build identities outside of what is commonly accepted in society, thus providing roots for resistance. This paper proposes to reconstruct the trajectories of two intellectuals and artists interviewed in Brussels to understand what may have led them to question traditional narratives of the past, and in some cases to actively resist them. It concludes that the encounter with several tools, such as historical books or the discovery of others' alternative narratives, may foster resistance; they not only encourage individuals to question specific historical discourses, but participate in the construction of a "meta-memory": a general representation of historical discourses.