Memoria histórica y deber de memoria: las dimensiones mundanas de un debate académico

Among the different terms that are commonly used to denote the social component of memories, historical memory has, probably, the strongest civic-political connotation. It is also the term most often used in the movement that defends the recovery of the popular memory of the Republic, the Civil War and the Franco period in Spain. This work explores this concept and its origin and development, meanwhile examining the ideas of political imperative and moral duty of memory. It also highlights the theoretical contradictions found in the notion of historical memory drawing, at the same time, particular attention to the legitimacy and importance of the objectives that are trying to be met by using this concept.Historical memory, Collective memory, Postmodernity, Collective myths, Duty of memory, Age of witness, Recovery of the historical memory, Distinction between academic and 'worldly'