The Role Of Collective Memory In Shaping National Identity
Auteurs : Bekkai Selma .
Résumé
This study investigates how collective memory functions as an instrument of identity construction and ideological legitimation in modern nation-states. Drawing upon the interdisciplinary frameworks of cultural memory studies, discourse theory, and postcolonial criticism, it examines how societies institutionalize remembrance and forgetting through education, public rituals, and heritage spaces. Through a comparative qualitative analysis of France’s postcolonial memory debates and South Africa’s post-apartheid commemorative practices, the article demonstrates that collective memory is not a static preservation of the past but a performative and contested process that negotiates identity and power. The discussion builds on key theoretical contributions by Maurice Halbwachs, Jan Assmann, Pierre Nora, Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu, Edward Said, and Gayatri Spivak. It argues that the politics of memory both consolidates and destabilizes national identity, functioning as a site of struggle where dominant narratives confront counter-memories of resistance. The study concludes that the institutionalization of selective memories sustains symbolic hierarchies, while the emergence of countermemories opens spaces for plural identity and reconciliation. Ultimately, collective memory appears as a dynamic field in which cultural transformation and historical consciousness are continuously redefined.
Mots clés
Collective Memory ; Cultural Memory Studies ; Historical Narratives ; National Identity ; Politics of Memory
