Cultural Memory Studies: An Arab Perspective on a Global Discourse

My interest in this relatively new and promising approach of Cultural Memory Studies began during my German studies at the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, Germany, especially when I read the first German-language introduction on cultural memory studies in 2005. It was Astrid Erll s book Kollektives Gedä-;-chtnis und Erinnerungskulturen (Collective Memory and Cultures of Memory). Since then, it occurred to me that similar teaching and reference sources on this topic were scarce in Arabic. This moved me to engage intensively with this flourishing field of research and scholarship. Fruits of this individual engagement with the topic came in the form of essays and papers published in (non)Arabic-language journals, participation in international conferences, and my Arabic-language book "Introduction to Memory Studies in Human and Social Sciences" (2021), which is considered the first Arabic-language introduction to the field of "cultural memory studies" that deals with memory and its sociocultural framework in a more interdisciplinary way.
Basically, the field of "cultural memory studies" deals with individual and collective perceptions and representations of the past. It attempts to systematically understand people s different ways of dealing with "time." Sociocultural interaction with time is not-limit-ed to dealing with the past, but also includes collective present and future references. This is because the recovery of the past is only present, which in turn means that the act of remembering (and also forgetting) that takes place in the present is often dependent on the present needs of the culture of memory. Memory is thus not a "photographic" image of the past as it once was, but a sociocultural construct in the first place.
For this reason, this field does not view human memory as a phenomenon unchanging in time and space, but as a dynamic process in a state of continuous change that ultimately reflects social and cultural dynamics. Here, the sociocultural and historical characteristics of this field become apparent, which began sociologically in its first phase, namely with the concept of La mémoire collective (collective memory) by the French sociologist Maurice Halbwachs, who is considered the founder of the field. This phase extended between the 1920s and 1930s. Karl Mannheim, W-alter-Benjamin, and Aby Warburg contributed significantly to the further development during that phase. In the 1980s, the second phase began with the monumental work of French historian Pierre Nora s lieux de mémoire (place of memory)-;- a new theory that contributed not only to the development of cultural memory studies, but also to the study of history and, in particular, nouvelle histoire. Nora s theoretical concept found supporters outside France. Thus, similar projects emerged in Germany, Italy, and Canada, among other countries. Aleida Assmann s and Jan Assmann s theory of Kulturelles Gedä-;-chtnis (cultural memory) also emerged in this middle phase. The third and current phase began at the turn of the century and gained great importance and momentum, especially after the events of September 11th. In the process, the field of interest has expanded to include transnational memory practices and cultures. But what distinguishes memory studies from historical studies?
In contrast to historical studies of a classical character, which primarily documents past(s) as definitive historical material, the field of cultural memory studies is concerned with the question of the interrelationships between past, present, and even future, and how they operate in social and cultural-historical contexts. Despite this fundamental difference, which Halbwachs once summarized, that the writing of history only begins with the completion of memory, the field of nouvelle histoire often overlaps with cultural memory studies research, resulting in the so-called "historic memory studies", a concept that is not-limit-ed to the analysis of the written document, but furthermore relies on the media of oral history, such as audio and video recordings and real-time interviews, in addition to engaging with numerous media of collective memory. The field of Cultural memory studies is therefore an interdisciplinary approach to understanding sociocultural change, rather than an expression of collective nostalgia for the past. The approach allows us to understand when and how collective memories help shape the present and the future. This is precisely what makes this field an interdisciplinary approach par excellence as opposed to historical studies, at least in its traditional form.
In contrast to the sensational upsurge of cultural memory studies at the global level, represented by the proliferation of research centers, conferences, and publications specializing in this relatively new field, as well as the teaching of this field at some international universities as an academic accompaniment to the ever-growing social and cultural preoccupation with the complex of remembering/forgetting and its problematics in most parts of the world, we observe an Arab lack of interest towards the field, what I have called in my new book an "Arab inattention" towards this new global research scene, which remains unjustified given the importance and topicality of the remembering/forgetting complex in the Arab context. It is true that there are some sporadic and rare exceptions, yet the Arab social and human sciences have significantly neglected studies and research of collective memory. It seems to me that the reason for the neglect is mainly the lack of epistemological awareness of the importance of this transdisciplinary approach. This is despite the considerable number of Arabic-language journals and research centers that belong to the humanities and social sciences. They all still have the opportunity to address the current scholarly lag if they would take advantage of the interdisciplinary practical knowledge and methodological expertise that this field offers in the humanities and social sciences. The field of Cultural memory studies is an important key to interdisciplinary understanding and fundamental analysis of a range of domestic Arab cultural issues, such as the question of cultural heritage (turat), contemporary Arab-Islamic thought, literary production, the question of identities, the Arab media, and other issues of sociocultural character. This is precisely what constitutes the added value of cultural memory studies in the Arab context, if it is granted an appropriate degree of academic freedom in this context.
Given the lack of genuine social and cultural openness in the Arab world, the path to liberation from world-closed discourses in general and authoritarian discourses in particular is still far away. Cultural memory studies cannot play the role of a magic wand here. Nevertheless, and thanks to its interdisciplinary research character, in which different scientific disciplines come together, it can - at least on a scientific level - contribute greatly to achieving this goal. This is because the field is considered an important key to deconstructing identity discourses and politics and understanding their mechanisms and -function-s in the present, in that the field conceives of collective identity as a dynamic and liquid process, even if it is closely tied to cultural roots that are deeply rooted in the history of the region. Although academic engagement with identity discourses and politics is considered the most important current issue in cultural Memory studies at the international level, Arab scholarly engagement with this question and other pressing and sensitive issues, such as "the relationship between power and memory," "sectarian memories," critiques of "heroic" narratives, and "dual cultural critiques" still seems very modest. This requires, first and foremost, genuine atmospheres of intellectual openness, cultural pluralism, and freedom of thought and expression. These are "working conditions" that are unfortunately not always sufficiently present in the Arab context, which in turn can further explain the marked neglect of this field by the Arab social and human sciences - mostly due to socio-political fears.

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