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In Praise of Forgetting

In Praise of Forgetting: Historical Memory and Its Ironies is a 2016 non-fiction book by David Rieff, published by Yale University Press. Rieff argues the contrarian position that sometimes history, including past mass atrocities, is better forgotten than commemorated:[1] "whereas forgetting does an injustice to the past, remembering does an injustice to the present".[2]

In Praise of Forgetting: Historical Memory and Its Ironies
AuthorDavid Rieff
PublisherYale University Press
Publication date
May 10, 2016
ISBN9780300182798
OCLC1005287157
LC ClassD16.9 .R534 2016

Content

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The book examines a range of case studies, from the end of apartheid in South Africa, Spanish transition to democracy and the related pacto del olvido, Chilean transition to democracy and the related amnesty for human rights abuses under the Pinochet regime, and others.[3] Such studies draw extensively on Rieff's personal experience as a foreign correspondent in countries undergoing conflict.[4] Rieff distinguishes history and (collective) memory: "History is about the past, whereas memory is about how we use the past for the present."[5] The latter, he maintains, often has little to do with history and should not be uncritically celebrated as an end in itself.[5] Rieff argues for a pragmatic weighing of the costs and benefits of remembering versus forgetting, rather than a morally absolutist position that memory is always desirable.[3] He states that "collective memory deployed by communities, peoples, and nations has led to war rather than peace, rancour rather than reconciliation, revenge rather than forgiveness... the invocation of historical memory serves to accentuate differences rather than bridge them".[6] Rieff argues that intractable conflicts and "memory wars" might sometimes be ended if societies underwent the right kind of forgetting.[6]

Reception

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In contrast to this poster, Rieff argues that remembering past tragedies does not prevent future ones.[5]

The book received several reviews.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]

South African historian Gary Baines described the book as "a major intervention in the debate about the relative merits of remembering and forgetting".[6] Michael Ignatieff, writing in The Sunday Times, states that the book is "an astringent, eloquent and sometimes moving essay".[3] Ignatieff, however, criticizes the book for giving no guidance on when it might be better to forget,[3] a critique echoed by Baines.[6] In International Affairs Caleb Lauer writes that Rieff fails to address the objection that forgetting "cannot provide a society with some blank canvas on which to conjure a new, best image of itself". Ultimately, Lauer concludes that the book is well written but "says very little. His main point is analogous to that of a media studies scholar who argues that propaganda is dangerous and journalism beneficial."[17]

Rose Deller, in LSE Review of Books, is persuaded by the book's argument that there is no moral duty to remember, and she credits Rieff for articulating "the very real danger that the memory of past atrocities can fuel violence in the here and now". She describes the book as "a thought-provoking and often controversial exploration of what is gained and lost by remembering; yet, it is a work of moral philosophy that raises more questions than it answers".[2] Will McGowan, in The British Journal of Criminology, calls the book a "provocative essay". He credits the book with originality, "relentless interdisciplinarity and fast-moving pace", and for drawing "on works of history, philosophy, sociology, literary fiction and poetry, and political science".[4] However, McGowan anticipates that specialists would not agree with the broad-brush treatment of many current and historical issues. He "found the text an immensely thought-provoking read due to its eclectic content and essay format. It raises a range of controversial questions which force us to think through some of the disastrous implications collective memory can have and is, therefore, a success on its own terms."[4]

The book sparked debates at Jewish Book Week[18] and the International Center for Transitional Justice.[19]

References

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  1. ^ "In Praise of Forgetting | Yale University Press". yalebooks.yale.edu. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  2. ^ a b Deller, Rose (1 July 2016). "Book Review: In Praise of Forgetting: Historical Memory and its Ironies by David Rieff". LSE Review of Books. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d Ignatieff, Michael (10 April 2016). "Better to Forget and Move On" (PDF). The Sunday Times.
  4. ^ a b c McGowan, Will (2017). "In Praise of Forgetting: Historical Memory and Its Ironies. By David Rieff (Yale University Press, 2016, $25.00/Yale University Press, £14.99, 160pp.)". The British Journal of Criminology. 57 (6): 1520–1523. doi:10.1093/bjc/azx018.
  5. ^ a b c "In Praise of Forgetting | On the Media". WNYC Studios. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d Baines, Gary (2019). "A Duty to Remember (and Forget?): A Transnational Perspective on Commemorating War". In Jacob, Frank; Pearl, Kenneth (eds.). War and Memorials: The Age of Nationalism and the Great War. Schoeningh Ferdinand GmbH. ISBN 978-3-506-78822-1.
  7. ^ "Forget and forgive - Social & cultural studies". TLS. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  8. ^ Moyn, Samuel (4 May 2016). "You Must Remember This". The New Republic. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  9. ^ Ugarte, Michael (2017). "David Rieff, In Praise of Forgetting: Historical Memory and Its Ironies. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2016, 160 pp". Historiografías (13): 146. doi:10.26754/ojs_historiografias/hrht.2017132357.
  10. ^ "In Praise of Forgetting: Historical Memory and Its Ironies". 15 August 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  11. ^ Bass, Gary J. (10 June 2016). "'In Praise of Forgetting,' by David Rieff". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  12. ^ Douglas, Lawrence (1 May 2016). "The Peril of Perpetual Revenge". Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  13. ^ Ryan, David (2018). "Book review: In Praise of Forgetting: Historical Memory and Its Ironies". Memory Studies. 11 (2): 257–260. doi:10.1177/1750698017754166b. S2CID 149771404.
  14. ^ Armstrong, William. "In praise of forgetting". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  15. ^ Goldsmith, Andrea (2016). "Andrea Goldsmith reviews 'In Praise of Forgetting: Historical memory and its ironies' by David Rieff". www.australianbookreview.com.au. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  16. ^ "Review: In Praise of Forgetting: Historical Memory and Its Ironies by David Rieff". The Irish Times. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  17. ^ Lauer, Caleb (2017). "In praise of forgetting: historical memory and its ironies". International Affairs. 93 (3): 727–728. doi:10.1093/ia/iiw015.
  18. ^ Roy, Phoebe. "In praise of forgetting - Social & cultural studies". TLS. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  19. ^ "Who Decides Whether to Remember or Forget?". International Center for Transitional Justice. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
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