From Collective Memory To Social Memory

Individual memory is quite important to human life. However, the individual and the society can not be divided, which determines that individual memory has both the unique individual character and its social nature. Social memory constraints on the individual survival and the social development together with individual memory, But there are no fixed model and research center to study on social memory, so the research on social memory has not been paid close attention to. However, with the rise of postmodernism, the theory of social memory has attracted more and more researchers with its unique charm. This paper takes the theory's comparison between the collective memory theory of Halbwachs and the social memory theory of Connerton as a clue, to discuss three issues emphatically.The first part is the analysis dimension and inner link between Halbwachs' "collective memory" and Connerton's "social memory".In the second part, we are going to summarize and analyze the link and difference between "collective memory" and "social memory". And they can be explored on the following dimensions, namely the connotation comparison of "collective memory" and "social memory", different explanations to memory process , flaws in "collective memory" and the development of "social memory". Through the three dimensions of comparison and analysis of "collective memory" and "social memory". Through the three dimensions of comparison and analysis of "collective memory" and "social memory", the developmental trend of social memory theory could be found out.What Halbwachs's "collective memory" concerns is the harmonious collective. And "collective memory" is maintained through social communication, that is, people share the same memory. But what Connerton's "social memory" thinks highly of is the inheritance and the maintenance of social memory. In his opinion, the ceremony, the habit of exercise and the physical practice are key points for "social memory" to maintain and inherit. The "collective memory" takes the present centre view as the core, stresses that the social construction impacts on the "collective memory". The recollection is frequently needs to serve for the present, so it is also the rupture. The "social memory" puts more emphasis on the transitivity and the continuity of social memory. Connerton stressed that the gap between the rules and the utilization. In his view, we need not only to remember the rules, but also to drill this kind of regular memory.Finally, through the summary and the comparative analysis, I propose my own viewpoint and try to analyze the achievement and the flaw of social memory theory. And during the process, I'll try to understand the social memory's consummated trend of development. Furthermore, it's significant to use the theory to analyze the practical problems in China.