Collective Memory and Social Movements

Abstract

Researchers on social movements have grown increasingly interested in memories through two main channels: the increasing focus on the symbolic dimension of collective action and the attempt to widen the temporal perspective within social movement studies, with research on continuity, abeyance, outcomes, events, and critical junctures. Though large protests often surprise observers, they are rooted in what came before them. The nexus between memory and movements has been explored mainly in three ways: memories of movements ; movements about memory ; and memories in movements . Memory is at the same time an outcome of protest and a tool in constructing new mobilizations. Movement actors access the past in a complex way, and are placed in a symbolic environment that is structured and shaped by the past, presenting them with strategic dilemmas regarding what is to be done with it.