The Construction of Collective Memory in the Axis of Social Reality and Habitus
Muhammed Vedat Karadağ, Gülsüm ÇalışırHow is collective memory formed through interaction with individuals’ habits and reality? This question is important for us to understand how individuals’ social experiences and habituated internal behaviour functions in the formation of collective memory. In lıne with this question, ın this article, in which the ideas of Berger and Luckmann, who emphasise the importance of social construction in the formation process of social reality, and how ingrained tendencies direct behaviours and shape social interactions through habitus, the most important concept of Bourdieu’s sociological approach, are discussed, it is aimed to reveal how habitus and social reality affect collective memory. Clarifying the relationship between these three concepts is important for us to understand how social, cultural, conscious and unconscious, habituated and transmitted behaviours affect the behaviours of society and individuals in the formation stages of collective memory. The relationship between these three concepts has been revealed based on Berger and Luckmann’s social construction approach, which is important for the process of social reality, and Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of habitus. As a result of the study, it has been revealed that collective memory is a living and living system that is influenced by habitus and social reality, and is affected by the dynamic structure of habitus and social reality in the process of formation. This article aims to contribute to the literature by explaining how collective memory, which is a process of remembering, is shaped by habitus and social reality while reaching a collective structure.
Toplumsal Gerçeklik ve Habitus Ekseninde Toplumsal Belleğin İnşası
Muhammed Vedat Karadağ, Gülsüm ÇalışırToplumsal bellek, bireylerin habitusları ve gerçeklikleri ile nasıl bir etkileşim içerisinden geçerek oluşur? Bu soru, bireylerin sosyal deneyimlerin ve kanıksanmış içsel davranışlarının toplumsal belleğin oluşumunda nasıl bir işlev gördüğünü anlamamız için önemlidir. Bu soru doğrultusunda, toplumsal gerçekliğin oluşum sürecinde sosyal inşanın önemine vurgu yapan Berger ve Luckmann’ın düşüncelerinin ve Bourdieu’nun sosyolojik yaklaşımının önemli kavramlarından olan habitus aracılığıyla kökleşmiş eğilimlerin davranışları nasıl yönlendirdiğini ve sosyal etkileşimleri nasıl şekillendirdiğinin ele alındığı bu makalede, habitus ve toplumsal gerçekliğin toplumsal belleği nasıl etkilediğini ortaya koymak amaçlanmıştır. Adı geçen üç kavram arasındaki ilişkinin açıklığa kavuşması, toplumsal belleğin oluşum aşamalarında sosyal, kültürel, bilinçli-bilinçsiz, kanıksanmış ve aktarılmış davranışların toplum ve birey davranışlarını ne yönde etkilediğini anlamamız için önemlidir. İlgili üç kavrama ait literatürün derlenerek Berger ve Luckmann’ın toplumsal gerçeklik süreci için önemli olan sosyal inşa yaklaşımı ve Pierre Bourdieu’nun habitus kavramından yola çıkarak bu üç kavram arasındaki ilişki açığa çıkarılmıştır. Çalışma sonucunda toplumsal belleğin habitus ve toplumsal gerçeklik tarafından etkilendiği, oluşum sürecinde ise habitus ve toplumsal gerçekliğin dinamik yapısı tarafından etkilenen canlı ve yaşayan bir sistem olduğu ortaya koyulmuştur. Bireyin toplum içerisindeki davranışlarının ve düşüncelerinin kaynağını oluşturan dinamiklerinin ele alındığı bu makalede, bir hatırlama süreci olan toplumsal belleğin kolektif bir yapıya ulaşırken, habitus ve toplumsal gerçeklik tarafından nasıl şekillendiğini anlatarak bu çalışmanın literatüre katkı sağlaması hedeflenmiştir.
Collective memory is the knowledge of the past that individuals themselves do not experience but learn from cultural artefacts. These cultural artefacts enable the formation of a common memory as a cumulative result of a society’s narratives from the past. Examples of these cultural artefacts are literary works, rituals, ceremonies, symbols and values. All these dynamics are important milestones that ultimately lead to the formation of a common consciousness of a society. When we consider it in this direction, the essence of collective memory is not the past experienced by individuals in the same time and context, but the commonality of information and narratives about the past. The commonality of narratives about the past enables individuals belonging to that society to develop an identity and create a sense of unity. This sense of unity brings a common understanding by uniting society and individuals around certain values. At this point, culture plays a binding role between the individual and society. The deeper the roots of this binding role, the more likely it is to come to life in the life and memory of society. Culture, which takes place in a cyclical process, provides an inseparable integrity with the social structure by creating its own meaning and difference on a human basis. These effects of culture reveal what is expected from individuals in the society, shape the patterns that determine how the individual should behave and enable individuals to make sense of themselves and their environment.
This shaping process reveals the social reality. The process of social reality, in which the role of the individual in society is determined, regulates the individual’s relationship with society by revealing the reflection of an ideological entity based on the perspectives presented by all the values, thoughts and behaviour patterns that exist in social life. Understanding social reality is crucial for navigating the complexity of human society and realising how our individual and collective identities are shaped by the social contexts in which we live. In essence, the relationship between collective memory and social reality is fluid and reciprocal between what a community remembers and how it understands its place in the world, based on how the social system is perceived and constructed.
Habitus, another concept thought to affect collective memory, has been a fundamental concept used by Bourdieu to explain much social behaviours. Habitus contributes to the reproduction of social structures by embedding certain memories and narratives within a community. While habitus is shaped by past experiences, it also offers an adaptive structure. New experiences change existing trends, allowing collective memory to evolve . This adaptability means that the collective memories of groups can change as social conditions change, and it would not be wrong to say that this situation reveals a dynamic interaction between memory and habitus.
All of these explanations reveal that there may be different dynamics in the formation process of collective memory. The existence of these dynamics has been tried to be explained in line with social reality and habitus. In this article, the relationship between habitus, social reality and collective memory is explained by attempting to reveal how the sources that contribute to collective memory affect collective memory. In this article, which was prepared by compiling the national and international literature, it was concluded that collective memory, which is a process of remembering, is possible with the design of habitus and social reality. With these results, it is aimed to provide a more detailed understanding of the relationship between these three concepts by providing a source for future studies and to contribute to the national literature by facilitating the understanding of how individuals are shaped in society.
