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The Past in the Present

Culture and the Transmission of Memory

Ron Eyerman

Yale University, ron.eyerman{at}yale.edu

The aim of this article is to outline a theory cultural trauma, with reference to slavery and the formation of an African American identity. With this in mind, the concepts ‘collective memory’ and ‘collective identity’ are discussed and linked with a theory of intellectual generations. It is proposed that the notion of an ‘African American’ emerged as part of the efforts of a generation of black intellectuals to come to grips with their, individual and collective, rejection by American society after being promised full integration following the end of the Civil War (1861-5). Slavery, not so much as experience, but as a form of memory, was a focal point of reference in this process.

Key Words: collective memory • cultural trauma • generation • intellectuals • slavery

Acta Sociologica, Vol. 47, No. 2, 159-169 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0001699304043853
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