mémoire collective et le temps

Abstract

(Originally published in Cahiers internationaux de sociologie, 1947, 2.) An exploration of the interpretation & recording of collective memory considers multiple facets of the collective memory concept. In contrast to the historian, who can only write one version of history by placing him-/herself deliberately outside the temporal facts experienced by groups in direct contact with events of the time, the contemporary observer must distinguish between several collective times, each of which belongs to a separate group. While social time may appear unified by objective measures of time in Western societies, the meaning of time varies according to the group. When the group changes, the memory splits between what once was & what has become. After discussing the natural divisions of time (nocturnal vs diurnal, seasonal), Sainte-Beuve's fictional representation of life among the Jansenists in Port-Royal is discussed. It is argued that the individual conscience is only a site for the passage & meeting of various currents of the collective conscience. J. Sadler.