Travels in Time : Essays on Collective Memory in Motion

In Travels in Time, Astrid Erll addresses the question of how collective memory emerges through motion--the movements of people, media, forms, and practices. Grounded in literary, cultural, and media memory studies, the essays discuss the ways in which families and generations are shaped by the past; how media such as literature, film, and photography make and remake collective memory; or the cultural dimensions of trauma, flashbulb memories, or implicit memory. They also consider traveling memory through the repercussions of recent historical events and long-term mnemonic processes, ranging from Greek antiquity to British colonialism in India, and from the First and Second World Wars to 9/11 and Covid-19.

Human beings are time travelers. Incessantly, we traverse past, present, and future through a process called collective memory. In Travels in Time, Astrid Erll addresses the question of how collective memory emerges through motion--the movements of people, media, forms, and practices. Grounded in literary, cultural, and media memory studies, this collection of essays undertakes forays into various dimensions of collective memory as traveling memory. It discusses the ways in which families and generations shape and are shaped by the past; how media such as literature, film, and photography make and remake collective memory; or how trauma, flashbulb memories, and implicit memory are interwoven with culture. The essays consider repercussions of recent historical events as well as long-term mnemonic processes, ranging from Greek antiquity to British colonialism in India, and from the First and Second World Wars to migration in Europe, 9/11, and the coronavirus pandemic. Developing a broad perspective on collective memory, this book outlines the horizons of interdisciplinary memory research.