
The Topography of Remembrance
The Dead, Tradition and Collective Memory in Mesopotamia
Gerdien Jonker(Author)
Brill (Publisher)
Published on 1. August 1995
Book
Leather / fine binding
XIV, 284 pages
978-90-04-10162-3 (ISBN)
Description
The Topography of Remembrance deals with different forms of remembrance and collective memory in Mesopotamia, discussing both its public (national) and private (family) aspects. The Introduction offers a history of modern, European memory in comparison with the Mesopotamian mode. The research adds to the recent discussion on collective memory.
The Mesopotamians found tools for the construction and passing on of common remembrance in liturgical repetition, in the preservation of buildings and monuments, and in communication channels. To describe these processes the author deals with different texts written between 2300-300 BC, which transport memory from a historical, administrational or religious perspective.
According to this study, the need to remember was prompted by the search for identity, a dynamic process in which forgetting played an essential part. The description of this process is also relevant to modern society. It offers an important contribution to the discussion of acculturation and identity.
The Mesopotamians found tools for the construction and passing on of common remembrance in liturgical repetition, in the preservation of buildings and monuments, and in communication channels. To describe these processes the author deals with different texts written between 2300-300 BC, which transport memory from a historical, administrational or religious perspective.
According to this study, the need to remember was prompted by the search for identity, a dynamic process in which forgetting played an essential part. The description of this process is also relevant to modern society. It offers an important contribution to the discussion of acculturation and identity.
Reviews / Votes
'Gerdien Jonker deserves heartfelt thanks for this excellent book.'Robert D. Biggs, Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 1998.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Leiden
Netherlands
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Cloth
With dust jacket
Illustrations
8 Ill.
Dimensions
Height: 242 mm
Width: 164 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
676 gr
ISBN-13
978-90-04-10162-3 (9789004101623)
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Gerdien Jonker, Ph.D. (1993) in Science of Religion, University of Groningen (The Netherlands), is presently researching death and disposal in European migrant communities. She has edited a handbook on secular encounters with death.