Social Theory: Collective Memory

Bin XuAssistant Professor of Sociology and Asian

StudiesFlorida International University

Durkheim Review

• Major Works• The Division of Labor

of Society (1893)• The Rules of

Sociological Method (1895)

• On Suicide (1897)• The Elementary Forms

of Religious Life (1912)

The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912)

• Key Arguments (Fields, Introduction to The Elementary Forms)

• Definition of Religion• The God/Society Equation• Case selection

The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912)

Key Arguments (Fields, Introduction to The Elementary Forms)• Conscience

collective/collective consciousness • Sacred/profane dichotomy• Religious life in seemingly nonreligious

life• Rituals

Interaction ritual chain (Randall Collins)

The Elementary Forms and Collective Memory

• Mythical past at the core of group identity and solidarity

• Mythical past refers “common beliefs, their common tradition, the memory of their great ancestors, their collective ideal,” etc.

• Myth of origin; religion provides an all-embracing structure beliefs and practices pertaining to the past.

• Rituals strengthen the myth

The Elementary Forms and Collective Memory

• Piacular rites1. Mourning2. Other piacular rites

Issues in Durkheim’s Collective Memory Theory• A communal idea of memory with an

emphasis on the “collective”1. Memory as the core of identity2. Ritual unifies the community3. Mourning strengthens the community