The Melanie Buffington Papers
(Dis) Union at 150: Collective Memories of Secession
Document Type
Article
Original Publication Date
2015
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Theory & Research in Social Education
Volume
43
First Page
499
Last Page
527
DOI of Original Publication
https://doi.org/10.1080/00933104.2015.1100151
Date of Submission
March 2023
Abstract
This article reports on the results of an exploratory qualitative study of the collective memories of Secession held by a diverse group of university students (n = 54) at a large southern research institution. Participants completed a survey that asked them to produce a narrative of Secession as well as to rank a selection of heroes and provide an explanation for their ranking. We found that the majority of responses contained elements from different, and even opposing, collective-memory traditions, including the Lost Cause and freedom-quest narratives of the Civil War. The article explores the responses using a theoretical framework based on the socio-cultural theories of language and narrative developed by Bakhtin and Wertsch in light of historical work done on collective memory of the Civil War.
Is Part Of
Melanie Buffington Papers