Cognition, Culture, and Political Momentum: Breaking Down the Silos in Collective Memory Research

After more than two decades of research on collective memory across various disciplines, Breaking down the Silos in Collective Memory Research brings together psychological memory research with the field of memory studies in a systematic way. Astrid Erll and William Hirst have gathered expert authors from across disciplines to present a sustained dialogue between cognitive and cultural memory researchers. The book is arranged according to key fields of memory research, and for quick reference to existent memory research, each chapter is structured in the same way, addressing the typical research questions, methods, and materials of a given approach. The chapters include discussions on familial, national, and transnational memory; memory and emotion; memory narratives; memory and digital media; memory conflicts; memory activism; and future thinking. Concise and accessible, this book offers a comprehensive overview of the multidisciplinary field of Memory Studies and intends to ＂break down the silos＂ that still exist in research on collective memory today.

Astrid Erll is Professor of Anglophone Literatures and Cultures at Goethe University Frankfurt. In 2011, she founded the Frankfurt Memory Studies Platform, a vibrant forum for international and interdisciplinary dialogues on collective memory. She is the author of Travels in Time (Oxford, 2025) and Memory in Culture (2011), which has been translated into five languages.

William Hirst is Malcolm B. Smith Professor of Psychology at the New School for Social Research. He examines the contribution of the cognitive sciences to the study of social and collective memory and the ways this work can be integrated into the more humanities-and social science-based approaches to Memory Studies. He has published over 150 articles and edited five books on these topics.