Archives of Memory and Forgetting in the Middle East

Milan Kundera tells us in his Book of Laughter and Forgetting that “The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.” This observation– that how and why we collectively remember is intimately connected to struggle and power– is the guiding theme of this class. We will examine this struggle from historical, political, personal, and contemporary perspectives in literature, architecture, anthropology, museum and archives studies and more. We will look at accidental forms of erasure, instances of mis-remembering, and outright destruction and fabrication in the archive as well as in museums, public spaces, family collections, and other institutions of collective and personal memory.

While this course will focus on the modern Middle East and Egypt in particular, we will bring in examples from Latin America, Africa, and Asia to provide comparative context and demonstrate the role of colonial and postcolonial states in shaping historical memory. Our discussions will draw from the readings as well as music, film, art, photography, your opinions, and more. Throughout the course, we will not only consider the mechanisms of power that censor narratives of the past but we will also look to memory as a source of personal and communal empowerment and solidarity.