War memory, national attachment and generational identity in Australia

Abstract

In this article we use a module from the Australian Survey of Social Attitudes 2007 to analyse how particular events in history resonate with Australians. We emphasize three significant findings: (1) evidence of a strong level of attachment to the world wars and an equivalent significance given to the terrorist events of 9/11 and the 2002 Bali bombings, with far less importance given to other event types; (2) a surprisingly weak correlation between the experience of events in adolescence and the assigning of historical significance; (3) indication that both closeness to the nation and a strong sense of worldliness is important in explaining attachment to the past. Overall the data challenge recent theories of postmodern memory and a range of survey results that supports Mannheim's cohort theory. Instead, we point to the resilience of historical events to remain culturally significant, particularly through the emergence of a cosmopolitan collective memory.

Growing up with a long-awaited nation-state: Personal struggles with the homeland among young diasporic Armenians

“…Later studies have provided empirical evidence in support of the of political events (Schuman and Scott 1989). Generation theory M differences in attitudes towards historical events and their representation (West and Aarons 2016;Szostak & Mihelj 2017). Meanwhile, studies of the effects of changing media environments suggest that the format of technologies mediating external events during youth may impact on how people relate to them, with the emergence of shorthand terms media g (Bolin and Ståhlberg 2015, Buckingham M B a generation or indeed a diaspora, we seek to contribute to understandings of diaspora as process (Mavroudi 2007) and consider commonalities and differences within the post-independence generation of Armenians in diaspora, with regard for diversity of family migration histories and host country contexts.…”

“…Later studies have provided empirical evidence in support of the ‘generational imprinting’ of political events (Schuman and Scott, 1989). Generation theory based on Mannheim’s definition has been applied in memory studies to understand differences in attitudes towards historical events and their representation (Szostak and Mihelj, 2017; West and Aarons, 2016). Meanwhile, studies of the effects of changing media environments suggest that the format of technologies mediating external events during youth may impact on how people relate to them, with the emergence of shorthand terms such as ‘digital generation’ and ‘media generation’ (Bolin and Ståhlberg, 2015; Buckingham, 2006).…”

The ‘lost generation’ of the 2008 crisis: Generational memory and conflict in Spain

“…There has been considerable debate about what constitutes a generation and how using the term enhances our understanding of social change (Mannheim, 2015(Mannheim, [1936): some social scientists are content to use it interchangeably with age cohort, while others employ it as a life stage (Braungart and Braungart, 1986;Woodman, 2012). Kertzer (1983) specifies that a generation is often used in a literary sense to organise a group of people who went through an important historical event, such as a war, economic downturn, or change of government (West and Aarons, 2016). Generations are also ordered around crucial historic events that shape an artistic style, worldview, or set of cultural practices.…”