Collective Memory and Social Representations of history. An exploration in Argentinean college students

ZUBIETA, ELENA; BARREIRO, ALICIA VIVIANA; DELFINO, GISELA

Tunez, Gammaarth

Conferencia; 10e Conference Internationale Sur les Represntationes Sociales; 2010

Approaching memory in collective terms do not deny the fact it is a typical individuals activity but postulated that exist psychological processes which transcend individuals even when is through them that it express (Páez et al, 2007). In this sense, collective memory refers to a set of representations of the past that group produce, conserve, elaborate and transmit trough member’s interaction (Jodolowski, 2000). Placed in an intermediate level between group and society, collective memory is similar to Moscovici’s concept of social representation (Moscovici, 1961/1976) (Licata, Klein & Van Der Linden, 2006). This representation is conceived as: a social elaboration and communication activity; an object produced by such activity; and as a symbolic context where such activity take place -and to whom contribute to define (Markovà, 1996). With the purpose of studying individuals remembering and forgetting as groups members, data from an Argentinean convenient sample –composed by 178 college students from Buenos Aires city and surroundings (47, 8 % females; 52,2% males; mean age: 22,52 years (SD: 4,71)- will be analysed in order to compare results with those obtained by Liu et al (2005; 2006) about events and figures individuals chose to give account of history. Previous studies evidence shows: a) a trans-cultural consensus which suggest the existence of a collective memory or dominant in which hegemonic believes about world history are shared. These hegemonic social representations are characterized by a euro-centric bias in the extent that events mentioned in national samples refer to Europe history and to dominant events of western culture; b) a major mention of events who took place in recent years and centuries, and c) a series of bias such as violence domain as a negative narrative pattern; nostalgic tonality and sociocentric tendency. Revolutions and Wars appear as the most relevant events in the last millennium (Páez et al. 2007); Sociocentrism is greater in higher status groups and is related to in-group favouritism and Latin America phenomena of alienate ethnocentrism (Gissi, Zubieta & Páez, 2001).  As memory also depends on social positions in which individuals are insert and it associated practices cannot be totally consensual or hegemonic. In a heterogeneous society a set of polemic social representations (Moscovici, 1988) also show up. In this sense, it will also be explored the existence of differential configurations –on  figures and events mentioned to give account of history- when interviewing variables such participants careers, type of university –official or private- religiosity practice and ideological self-positioning. As Doise (2001) pointed out, sharing common references do not imply consensus but, above all, a plurality of different positioning respect those references.