Dartmouth College (White River Junction, New Hampshire, U.S.), and London School of Economics and Political Science (London, England, United Kingdom)

“Rethinking the Past, Remaking the Future”

I discuss three kinds of memory – individual, collective and institutional, their relationship and why they are important resources for individuals, groups and nations.  Attempts to restructure memories at any of these levels are generally responses to social and political agendas, and these efforts are often highly contested. Memory contestation in postwar Europe indicates that such restructuring may nevertheless be necessary for democratization and better relations with neighbors.  Drawing on the experience of Western and Eastern European countries, I explore the conditions under which painful but personally and politically therapeutic reexaminations of the past are likely to occur and the practical benefits they are likely to have.