^ International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, 'about us,'.^ Mark Hatlie, Sites of Memory: Historical Markers, Memorials, Monuments, and Cemeteries,.^ Nora, “The Era of Commemoration” in Realms of Memory: The Construction of the French Past, vol.^ Commission franco-québécoise sur les lieux de mémoire communs, 'Lieux de mémoire,' (French-language link).^ Pierre Nora, 'Preface to English Language Edition: From Lieux de memoire to Realms of Memory', in Realms of Memory: Rethinking the French Past ed.Nora, Realms of Memory: Rethinking the French past Method of loci, a memorization technique based on spatial memory.Ĭalling attention to the importance of 'social forgetting', historian Guy Beiner has argued that 'there is an evident need for major historical studies of lieux d’oubli to counterbalance the studies of lieux de mémoire.' See also An International Coalition of Sites of Conscience of more than 200 museums, monuments and other institutions around the world uses the concept to group 'sites, individuals, and initiatives activating the power of places of memory to engage the public in connecting past and present in order to envision and shape a more just and humane future.'. Quebec and France have a joint commission to identify and codify sites of memory. There are attempts made to map sites of memory globally. The concept has been listed in Le Grand Robert de la langue française, the authoritative French dictionary, and studied by scholars and others. Today, there is one national memory, but its unity stems from a divided patrimonial demand that is constantly expanding and in search of coherence.” Thus sites of memory may risk becoming 'invented traditions'. In Nora's words: “In the past, then, there was one national history and there were many particular memories. Īs sites of memory became better known and made official by governments, they can tend to homogenize varied local memories. According to La Commission franco-québécoise sur les lieux de mémoire communs (French-Québécois Commission for Common Sites of Memory) a lieu de mémoire signifies the cultural landmarks, places, practices and expressions stemming from a shared past, whether material (monuments) or intangible (language and traditions). In Nora's words, 'A lieu de mémoire is any significant entity, whether material or non-material in nature, which by dint of human will or the work of time has become a symbolic element of the memorial heritage of any community (in this case, the French community)' It may refer to any place, object or concept vested with historical significance in the popular collective memory, such as a monument, a museum, an event, a symbol like a flag or the French figure Marianne, even a colour vested with historical memory (the red flag of left politics, for instance).

Memoires de pierre