It’s been a memorable period for 伯恩斯爱尔兰太阳城官网访问学者盖伊·贝纳—which seems appropriate for a specialist in the historical study of remembering and forgetting.
以色列内盖夫本古里安大学历史学教授, 贝纳是2019-20年度伯恩斯学者, 他是众多杰出学者中最新的一位, 作家, 艺术家, 记者, 图书馆员, 以及一些著名的公众人物担任过这一职务. Burns Scholars teach courses, offer public lectures, and use the University’s John J. 伯恩斯图书馆正在进行的太阳城官网, 写作, 以及与爱尔兰历史有关的创造性活动, 艺术, 和文化.
自从来到不列颠哥伦比亚省，贝纳看到了他2018年的书， 健忘的记忆: Social Forgetting and Vernacular Historiography of a Rebellion in Ulster, selected for three major awards in the field of history-related research: the American Historical Association George L. 莫斯奖，以表彰“杰出的学术成就”, 创造力, and originality” in the intellectual and cultural history of Europe since 1500; the Katharine Briggs Award for a distinguished contribution to folklore studies; and the National University of Ireland Irish Historical 太阳城官网 Prize, 哪个奖项是爱尔兰历史太阳城官网领域最好的新作品.
健忘的记忆 also was previously listed as a Times Literary Supplement book of the year and received an honorable mention for the American Conference for Irish Studies Donnelly Prize for Books in 历史 and Social Sciences.
对 健忘的记忆, 以及担任伯恩斯主席的荣誉, 代表了贝纳的最新里程碑, an Israeli native who earned his doctorate from the National University of Ireland-University College Dublin and was a Government of Ireland 太阳城官网 Fellow at Trinity College Dublin. 他在爱尔兰的学术和太阳城官网经历, 以使用民间传说和其他不太传统的资料为特点的, shaped Beiner’s interest in how popular conceptions of national and local history are shaped not only by collective memory but also what he calls “social forgetting.虽然植根于爱尔兰的经历, Beiner finds his body of work is relevant in other historical and contemporary contexts, 比如关于邦联纪念碑的争议.
说到历史, 可以认为，内存是个例外, 而遗忘是常态,贝纳解释道。, who is teaching a course this fall on history and memory related to “Bloody Sunday,1972年英国军队在北爱尔兰杀害抗议者. “官方历史, 出版的或被视为权威的东西, is noteworthy not only for what it recalls but what it doesn’t—events and details that are considered ‘inconvenient’ are often relegated to oblivion. 其他种类的白话文历史依然存在, however—like oral history or folklore—in which such details can be shared and maintained informally.
“因此，结果是一种复杂形式的社会遗忘, 由公众默哀和私人纪念组成.”
说到历史, 可以认为，内存是个例外, 而遗忘是常态. 官方的历史, 出版的或被视为权威的东西, is noteworthy not only for what it recalls but what it doesn’t—events and details that are considered ‘inconvenient’ are often relegated to oblivion."
In 健忘的记忆, Beiner uses the 1798 rebellion in Ireland’s Ulster province to illustrate the dynamics of social forgetting. 起义, which sought to separate Ireland from British rule and also took place in locations that would later be p艺术 of the Irish Republic, 是一个不寻常的联盟吗, 叫做联合爱尔兰人协会, between Catholic and Protestant rebels—notably Presbyterians who felt marginalized by the Anglican establishment; in addition, France’s revolutionary government mustered troops to send in support of the United Irishmen, although ultimately the French involvement proved to be far smaller than envisioned. 叛乱取得了成功，但很快就被镇压了, paving the way for the Act of Union that formally created the United Kingdom of Britain and Ireland.
随着时间的推移, 北爱尔兰的政治派别发生了变化, 新教的社区, 主要是联合派和保皇派, scrubbed away any official commemoration or record of their role in a republican rebellion—including the severe repression authorities exacted against the insurgent Presbyterians, 尤其是在阿尔斯特郡的安特里姆和唐恩, 拜因笔记. Whereas the uprising was fervently and publicly recalled by nationalists in the south of Ireland, 在北方，整个事件似乎被“遗忘”了.”
然而，“九十八”的记忆在北爱尔兰口述历史中一直存在, 个人回忆录, 历史小说, 和民间传说, 据贝纳说. Less conventional sources for such a “vernacular historiography” included a 19th-century local best-selling novel, 贝琪灰色, that was set during the rebellion and drew in p艺术 on family stories and reminiscences the author had gathered from residents of County Down. Antiquarians documented oral traditions about the United Irishmen and recollections of the rebellion also appeared in folk songs and ballads such as “Henry Joy” and “General Munro.”
“社会遗忘, 按照我的定义, is not total amnesia: It’s more akin to when a judge instructs a jury to disregard certain inadmissible testimony,贝纳说。. “正式, 预计陪审员们不会理会这一信息, 但既然这件事引起了他们的注意, 他们很可能仍然会把它记在心里. 记忆基本上是在遗忘的伪装下被保留的.”
取决于具体的情况和语境, 社会记忆可以用于政治目的, 他说. The recent removal of Confederate and Francoist imagery from public spaces in, respectively, the U.S. and Spain are touted as a means to address injustices or heal longstanding divisions. Yet these acts of “de-commemorating” do not entirely efface such controversial memories, 据贝纳说; paradoxically, 由此产生的关注让他们活了下来.
爱尔兰是太阳城官网社会记忆的绝佳案例, 拜因说, 部分原因是它有充分的记录, 丰富的民俗收藏, as he discovered early on in his academic career while doing research on the 1798 rebellion in the west of Ireland—which he subsequently published in an earlier prize-winning book, 纪念法国年:爱尔兰民间历史和社会记忆.
在梅奥郡卡斯尔巴地区的实地采访过程中, Beiner incidentally stumbled on a more recent example of public forgetting/private remembrance, as residents told of Central European Jews seeking refuge from Nazism who had immigrated to the west of Ireland before the outbreak of World War II and set up successful businesses. 战争结束后，难民们没有在爱尔兰呆太久, yet lingering memories of this remarkable episode—barely mentioned in the histories of Ireland—live on in communities that hosted them.
“What made this even more interesting was when the debate about immigration and refugees in Europe boiled over a few years ago, 你听到的一个论点是, 爱尔兰此前没有处理难民的经验,’”贝纳说. “但在爱尔兰西部的一些地方，人们知道这并不完全正确, and insist on recalling positive experiences in which immigrants contributed significantly to the local economy and cultural life.”
这学期, 贝纳正在教授一个研讨会, 纪念热:遗产, 纪念, 和当代爱尔兰的遗忘, 并将于2月18日发表年度伯恩斯访问学者讲座.
肖恩·史密斯|大学传播| 2020年2月