Collective Memory

From DigitalRhetoricCollaborative

Current revision

[edit] Introduction

Memory is classically thought of as the rhetorical canon that allows a rhetor to speak at length without consulting notes.^[1] However, the modern definition has a bit more to it. Memory in modern rhetoric is linked to historical, social, and cultural memories, and it requires a few key things of its participants.^[2] First, they must have an understanding of language, social codes, and symbols. ^[3] Second, they must share a background of knowledge; ^[4] this could be as simple as a couple fighting, and both participants know and understand what it is they are fighting about. Third, an audience must have the ability to remember and accumulate the arguments stated during a speech. ^[5] Lastly, the audience must have a cultural understanding of stereotypes of groups; for example, the idea of honor and valor being attached to people who serve in the military. ^[6] If these requirements are all accounted for, a rhetor can successfully call on his audience’s collective memory, which can be a powerful tool in persuading a group of people to collectively accept a proposition.

[edit] Artifact Analysis

President George W. Bush’s speech was given in response to the September 11th, 2001 attack on the Twin Towers.

Excerpt from his speech:

In the normal course of events, Presidents come to this chamber to report on the state of the Union. Tonight, no such report is needed. It has already been delivered by the American people.

We have seen it in the courage of passengers, who rushed terrorists to save others on the ground -- passengers like an exceptional man named Todd Beamer. And would you please help me to welcome his wife, Lisa Beamer, here tonight.

We have seen the state of our Union in the endurance of rescuers, working past exhaustion. We have seen the unfurling of flags, the lighting of candles, the giving of blood, the saying of prayers -- in English, Hebrew, and Arabic. We have seen the decency of a loving and giving people who have made the grief of strangers their own. My fellow citizens, for the last nine days, the entire world has seen for itself the state of our Union -- and it is strong.^[7]

President George W. Bush’s speech on September 20, 2001, is a prime example of a speaker utilizing his or her audience’s collective memory in order to communicate a persuasive message. One of President Bush’s intended audiences was the men and women of the United States, and he calls on their collective memory of September 11, 2001, to instill in them feelings of unity and togetherness. To “call on their collective memory” means to reference images, phrases, and ideas associated with an event that every member of the audience experienced.

For example, President Bush says, “We have seen the unfurling of flags, the lighting of candles, the giving of blood, the saying of prayers.”^[8] These are images of the aftermath of the attack, which serve to both remind every American of the emotions it aroused—namely sadness, compassion, and patriotism—and to unite the country through a shared experience. Other images that he encourages his audience to remember are the “bringing down of buildings,” the “damaged Pentagon,” and the “Republicans and Democrats joined together on the steps of this Capitol, singing 'God Bless America.'”^[9] Again, he asks his audience to remember what the attack looked like—the Twin Towers catching fire and smoke rising from the Pentagon—and to remember the way all Americans, despite their differing views, came together as a result.

Lastly, President Bush says, “Each of us will remember what happened that day, and to whom it happened. We'll remember the moment the news came -- where we were and what we were doing. Some will remember an image of a fire, or a story of rescue. Some will carry memories of a face and a voice gone forever.”^[10] Here, he is emphasizing just how resonant this event will be, and that, although American’s memories of it may be slightly different, it has in some way affected every citizen of the United States.

The President’s use of collective memory serves a purpose: calling on painful memories will make his audience more willing to support his plan for dealing with the crisis. Ultimately, he is asking the audience for their patience, “with the delays and inconveniences that may accompany tighter security; and for your patience in what will be a long struggle.”^[11] Reliving these memories forces Americans to feel intense emotions like fear, anger, and a desire for justice. This pathetic appeal, combined with the notion that all Americans are experiencing these emotions, can help assure his audience that they are not in this alone, and therefore allow them to feel more comfortable supporting a long and difficult war. As this speech illustrates, collective memory can function as a pathetic appeal, uniting a group of people over a shared memory and allowing them to feel comfortable accepting a rhetor’s proposition as a part of a larger, tightly knit community.

[edit] Additional Resources

Britton, Dee. "What Is Collective Memory?" Memorialworlds. WordPress.com, 27 June 2012. Web. 21 Apr. 2015. <http://memorialworlds.com/what-is-collective-memory/>. Read this article to learn more about what Collective Memory is according to several scholars who have built ideas off of each other in order to reach a larger idea of what the full scope of Collective Memory entails.

Coman, Alin. "Collective Memory from a Psychological Perspective." International Journal of Politics Culture.And Society, Vol. 22, No. 2, Special Issue: Memory and Media Space (2009): 125-41. JSTOR. Web. 21 Apr. 2015. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/40608220?ref=no-x-route:af6a209a4c366cc04717ec3232bf8387>. Read this paper to learn about how psychology can contribute to discussions of collective memory.

Yates, Frances Amelia. The Art of Memory. Chicago: U of Chicago, 1966. Print. Read this work by Frances Yates to understand the history of memory and how it is viewed as an art form in literature.

[edit] References

1. ↑ Shepherd, Gregory J., Jeffrey St. John, and Theodore G. Striphas. Communication As--: Perspectives on Theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2006. Print.
2. ↑ Shepherd, Gregory J., Jeffrey St. John, and Theodore G. Striphas. Communication As--: Perspectives on Theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2006. Print.
3. ↑ Shepherd, Gregory J., Jeffrey St. John, and Theodore G. Striphas. Communication As--: Perspectives on Theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2006. Print.
4. ↑ Shepherd, Gregory J., Jeffrey St. John, and Theodore G. Striphas. Communication As--: Perspectives on Theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2006. Print.
5. ↑ Shepherd, Gregory J., Jeffrey St. John, and Theodore G. Striphas. Communication As--: Perspectives on Theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2006. Print.
6. ↑ Shepherd, Gregory J., Jeffrey St. John, and Theodore G. Striphas. Communication As--: Perspectives on Theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2006. Print.
7. ↑ Bush, George W. "George W. Bush, Address to the Nation—September 20, 2001." Presidential Rhetoric. PresidentialRhetoric.com, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
8. ↑ Bush, George W. "George W. Bush, Address to the Nation—September 20, 2001." Presidential Rhetoric. PresidentialRhetoric.com, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
9. ↑ Bush, George W. "George W. Bush, Address to the Nation—September 20, 2001." Presidential Rhetoric. PresidentialRhetoric.com, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
10. ↑ Bush, George W. "George W. Bush, Address to the Nation—September 20, 2001." Presidential Rhetoric. PresidentialRhetoric.com, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
11. ↑ Bush, George W. "George W. Bush, Address to the Nation—September 20, 2001." Presidential Rhetoric. PresidentialRhetoric.com, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.