Chapter One. Introduction

Recent years have seen a rise in interest in the topic of “collective memory” among historians, sociologists, political scientists, and psychologists (Irwin-Zarecka, 1994; Kansteiner, 2002; Maier 1997; Middleton & Edwards, 1990; Misztal, 2003; Olick, 1999; Wertsch, 2002). Although the precise meaning and the scope of terms, such as “collective memory,” “social memory,” “social remembering,” and “national” or “public” memory, remain a matter of debate (Wood, 1999), there appears to be agreemen..