Memory Studies in social and human sciences: An international interest and an arabic deficiencies

This paper introduces the field of memory studies as the sum of interdisciplinary approaches in the human and social sciences considering the social perceptions of the collective past with modern methodological tools. This field has attracted academic interest from various disciplines in the West but has not enjoyed the same resonance in Arab research. The first section describes the formation of this field, presenting an overview of the most important theories that shaped it – including those of Halbwachs, Nora, and Assmann. The subsequent sections focus in turn on sociological, historical and literary studies of memory, while the final section reviews the status of memory studies in Arab social sciences and humanities, concluding that there is a major Arab neglect of this field. The conclusion presents a number of recommendations on how to overcome this.

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This paper introduces the field of memory studies as the sum of interdisciplinary approaches in the human and social sciences considering the social perceptions of the collective past with modern methodological tools. This field has attracted academic interest from various disciplines in the West but has not enjoyed the same resonance in Arab research. The first section describes the formation of this field, presenting an overview of the most important theories that shaped it – including those of Halbwachs, Nora, and Assmann. The subsequent sections focus in turn on sociological, historical and literary studies of memory, while the final section reviews the status of memory studies in Arab social sciences and humanities, concluding that there is a major Arab neglect of this field. The conclusion presents a number of recommendations on how to overcome this.

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