Abstract The paper highlights how memory is a major element in the three Theban plays by Sophocles. The paper looks at "Odeipus the King", "Oedipus at Colonus", and "Antigone" and illustrates the aspects of individual and culturalmemory.
From the Paper "In Odeipus the King, cultural memory is central and often represented by the Chorus, which recognizes the nature of the prophecy that Oedipus has essentially ignored. The prophecy itself is a cultural memory, a warning meant to be heeded, and when broken, a sign to others not to make the same error. Oedipus's parents, Laius and Jocasta, are told that their offspring will kill the father and marry the mother. In order to avoid this fate, the parents place the child on a hill and leave him. The boy is instead raised in another household, but he is told about the prophecy by the Oracle at Delphi."
Tags: Odeipus, Antigone, Creon, Theseus, Polyneices, individual, cultural
Abstract This paper examines how both Richard Rodriguez's "Hunger for Memory" and Thomas Szasz's "The Myth of Psychotherapy" demonstrate the current cultural obsession with self-reflection and the idea that reconstituting, reliving, and recapturing memory is impossible, a lie, and would be dangerous to the psyche and soul's self-development if it were possible. It looks at how Szasz critiques modern psychotherapy's attempt to make morality a mental and medical issue, whereas Rodriguez critiques modern moral educators within the educational establishment who would excuse poor performance by minority students and students from non-English speaking homes. It shows how both suggest objective, external standards to live up to, rather than internal reflection, and how they believe this is the answer to the sense of depression and disenfranchisement so endemic to modern life.
From the Paper "Hunger for Memory chronicles the autobiography of a young, once-Spanish speaking, now primarily English-speaking young man, of the journey of a Mexican-American named Richard Rodriguez who "made good" and lived the American dream. Yet although Rodriguez states that he has reaped the benefits of material and academic success, he feels alienated from his culture and of the political emphasis of reconstituting one's roots in modern America. This is particularly in terms of language, the author states. Rodriguez, after all, began his schooling in a primarily English-speaking school in Sacramento, California. He knew only a few words of English but Spanish was the primary language of his home."
Investigates the struggle of migrants towards cultural assimilation and ethnic-identification as portrayed in Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club", K.S. Maniam's "The Return", journal articles and an interview with a professor of migrant literature.
Abstract This paper demonstrates that, regardless of ethnicity and cultural background, migrants worldwide have similar problems of ethnic-identification and cultural assimilation. The author compares two semi-autobiographical novels by two Asian migrant authors of different diasporic movements: Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club', which reflects the Asian-American migrant experience, and K.S. Maniam's "The Return", which is a portrayal of the Tamil-Indian migrant community in Malaysia. The paper concludes that migrant literature should maintain its niche in contemporary literature to continue to fulfill its purpose of spotlighting the often silent struggles of migrants everywhere. The paper includes in the appendix a summary of the interview with a professor of post-colonial Malaysian and Singaporean theater and a list of the questions.
Table of Contents:
Abstract
Introduction
Review of Literature
Methods
Findings and Discussions
Cultural Displacement, Ethnic-Identification and Attempts at Assimilation in "The Joy Luck Club" (Amy Tan) and "The Return" (K.S. Maniam)
The Trouble with Tongues: Language as a Barrier to Ethnic-Identification and Cultural Assimilation
The Absence of Reminiscence: The Lack of Memory of the Homeland and its Consequences on Ethnic-Identification
Negotiation and Elusion: Attempts at Assimilation and Ethnic-Identification
Conclusions and Recommendations
Appendix: Interview Questions
Appendix: Interview Summary
From the Paper "These efforts, however, lead often to crisis of ethnic-identification. It is not simply a matter of being one culture or the other; it is the dilemma of being neither. Many find it difficult, in reality, to articulate the "cultural hybridities" Bhabha mentions. This displacement of and attempts at negotiating ethnic identity thus become the common vein of Tan and Maniam's highly personal works. The semi-autobiographical stance of both novels is reflected through the first-person narrative and the protagonists' personas."
Abstract This paper illustrates the role played by the Lower East Side in the development of Jewish culture in the United States. The paper presents the key element in Diner's argument that the Lower East Side neighborhood represents every aspect of the Jewish experience in America. The paper discusses how the Lower East Side neighborhood emerged as the emblem of American Jewish history and became the vehicle through which American Jews presented themselves
From the Paper "Diner used a wide variety sources and evidence to support her argument. ?Images of the Lower East Side circulated across New York and around America through words and pictures (157)?. She presents many types of literature for support. Books, poems, newspapers, and magazines, even if the geographic focus was not New York City, still referenced streets or sections of the Lower East Side. ?In representations of Jews in America, the Lower East Side served as the standard of Jewish measurement. A 1980s "docudrama" about a young Jewish peddler who learned about America and about himself while on the road bore the title West of Hester Street, obviously a big swath of geography (33).? "
Tags: hester, street, new, york, city, shtetl, holocaust, culture, heritage
Abstract The repressed memory controversy has spawned numerous debates in a variety of fields, from clinical psychology to legal studies, from the utility of repressed memory testimony in the courtroom to the nature of memory storage and recall. This paper reviews the research literature around the concept of repressed memories and proposes that, despite its emerging salience as a factor, one area not elaborately researched is the role of gender in repressed memories. The paper proposes an experiment designed to test whether gender may affect the creation of false memories in undergraduates and postulates an outcome based on the hypothesis that the social acceptability of a suggested memory increases how readily participants assimilate new memories (and this can be correlated with gender socialization). The experiment's goal is to work toward understanding the role of gender in the occurrence of repressed memories.
From the Paper "Given the predominance of repressed memory in females, the problem begs the question: does gender affect cognition? The full answer to that question is complex beyond the scope of this paper, but the general summary is that the evidence is inconclusive. From the popular view, it is generally believed that females are better at certain tasks such as facial recognition, color recollection, emotional recognition, and verbal memory; while males are better at tasks such as visuospatial reasoning, chronology, and number memory. At the same time, despite these persistent stereotypes, the evidence to support them is not conclusive (c.f. Caplan, 1997; Halpern 1986). We can say that there is some evidence indicating females may be more suggestible than males (McFarlane, 2002), which might account in part for of the difference in repressed memory, given that a predominance of clients are in therapy (under the influence of a therapist) at the time of the recovery (Freyd, 1999)."
Abstract This paper looks closely at a chapter describing the inner workings of our human memory, and the three component system that we utilize to retail information. Using sensory memory, working memory and long-term memory we can learn to better encode information in order to be more successful students. The more meaning we can attach to our memories, the stronger memories they become.
From the Paper "Memories can seem to be fleeting moments, shocking us when we can not seem to recall the most standard pieces of information, or surprisingly dense, as when details one thought completely unimportant rise clearly into our thoughts. Understanding the processes behind memory can aid our quests to recall specific information similarly to how an information processing system such as a computer or database works. Through a clear understanding of the three component model of memory--sensory memory, working or short term memory and long term memory--one can apply this awareness towards creating specific rehearsal and encoding cues which will be more likely to remain stable in our long term memory. While the processes of memory have been speculated upon for centuries, a current model describes memory utilizing technological imagery. "
Abstract This well-researched paper reviews and analyzes the latest published research and relevant results pertaining to the nature and dynamics of human memory. The writer of this paper explores the significance of sleep on the formation of memory as well as the impact of menopause and its tendency to affect a woman's memory. This paper details the results of various studies which clearly explain the three distinct stages of memory while also delving into how and why memories either linger on or vanish. This paper presents the findings of studies done on babies and their capacity to remember which greatly increases between 8 and 12 months while long-term memory is not fully developed until after the first year of life. This paper also details the author's results to a particular experiment conducted on 11 students which focused on recognition and delayed recall as they pertained to names and numbers.
Table of Contents:
Abstract
Introduction
Discussion
Psychological Laboratory Report
Bibliography
From the Paper "Findings of a new research unravel the three distinct stages of a memory, how memories endure or vanish. These stages are the stabilizing, the enhancing and the modifying of a memory. In the first stage, the memory or experience is created in the brain, stabilized and then saved like computer files but, unlike computer files, the memory needs six waking hours to become stabilized. The second stage happens during a full night's sleep, on which the enhancement of memory is absolutely dependent, and underscores the significance of sleep to the learning process. And the third stage is the recall phase, wherein the memory that has been stabilized and enhanced can be modified. These findings were drawn from a new research conducted with 100 young subjects, aged 18 to 27 in several finger-tapping sequences at various intervals and points in the sleep-wake cycle. The research, conducted at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center, focused on procedural skill memory, the type that enables the learning of coordination-based skills, like driving, sports, playing musical instruments and surgical procedure."
Abstract The paper examines research involving repressed and recovered memory. The writer begins by pointing out the issues and controversies that the psychiatric community is currently facing. The paper defines repressed memory and recovered memory as a "defense mechanism whereby our thoughts are pulled out of our conscious and into our unconscious".
Contents:
Introduction
Definition of Repressed Memory and Recovered Memory Issues and controversy
Research
Conclusion
From the Paper "Recovered Memories are memories that have been repressed and are recovered at some later date. Often times the event is not recovered until years after it has occurred. According to an article, published by Elsevier Science, recovered memory is not a new phenomenon. (Sivers et al 2002) In fact, it was first discovered during the early twentieth century. The article also explains that there are two schools of thought on the topic of recovered memory. The first school of thought asserts that memories of traumatic events can be repressed and recovered and that the recovered memories can be accurate and clear. The second school of thought asserts that adults with problems simply use the theory of repressed memory to make excuses for their dysfunctional lives."
Abstract Summary: The repressed/false memory debate is marked by sharp polarities of what Loftus terms firm believers and skeptics who "point to the reconstructive nature of memory and ask for evidence and corroboration". The debate is far from theoretical since individual's reputations and futures are at stake. While the claims and arguments on both sides of the controversy will be discussed, the purpose here is to explore the nature of memory, repression and dissociation to determine if therapists can distinguish between true and false memories of childhood trauma.
Abstract This paper focuses on the study of repressed memory, examining what triggers repressed memories, how recall is shaped and psychological concepts of Freud and how they related to the topic of repressed memories. Several research studies regarding repressed memory are also examined and discussed.
From the Paper "Memory is a cognitive function or process by means of which information and or experiences are catalogued, stored, associated and ultimately retrieved. A field that has gained significance in recent years is that of so-called repressed memories or memories generally of a past trauma of some sort that are recalled in the event of some specific trigger stimulus or cue. The notion that memories are often repressed to the point of no recall absent such triggers is traced to the work of Sigmund..."
Abstract In this article, the writer explains that for therapists, true memories can provide clues as to why patients are suffering from a variety of psychological problems. The writer notes that helping clients gain a clearer understanding requires greater and more detailed insight into the patient's past. Further, the writer points out that most clinical psychologists believe that children can learn to block memories as a survival mechanism and repression, which may cease to be helpful in adult life. Away from the traumatic environment, adults may find their memories resurfacing, either gradually in fragments, or suddenly in vivid flashbacks. The writer maintains that the issue of repressed memory remains controversial, even with the American Psychological Association itself. The writer then concludes that the real truth may be that not all cases are false and not all cases are true, but when dealing with the complex and suggestible process of memory and recall, it can be difficult to discern truth from fiction.
From the Paper "The debate over so-called recovered memory syndrome leaves therapists in a bind. Even the name of the syndrome is controversial. Advocates who say the memories are real call the memories repressed, those who say the memories are false call the memories planted. In 1996, Susan Clancy, then a psychology fellow at Harvard, tried to find a way to see if some people were more prone to re-create memories than other people. She tested women who said they had repressed and then recovered memories of sexual abuse, and control groups who said they were either never sexually abused or had never forgotten their abuse. All were asked to study, memorize and then recite back a list of related words, like candy, sugar, cookie and brownie, that were related to the word sweet--but never the word sweet itself. Everybody had a tendency to falsely remember that the word sweet was one of the words that had been listed, but the women who claimed to have recovered memories of sexual abuse were significantly more likely than the control groups to be very, very confident that the critical word sweet was falsely on that list."
Abstract This paper presents an overview of memory and the different types of memory and then takes a look at the relationship between memory and academic achievement. The paper also describes tests used to measure memory and learning.
From the Paper "This literature review, concerning the topic of the relationship between memory and academic achievement, addresses the following areas relevant to this study: history and overview of memory, different types of memory, memory and academic achievement, tests to measure memory and learning and a conclusion. Baddeley reported that whether memory needs to be regarded as a single system or two or more subsystems was a major controversy during the..."
Abstract This paper explains how the human memory works and includes detailed information about the complexity and the exact organs of the brain and how these organs affect memory. Included are the differences between long term and short term memory and tips on how to remember information more efficiently.
From the Paper "Perhaps the most important thing scientists have found is that there is no single memory system in the brain. Instead, human memory is divided into at least two broad categories. These can be affected by disease, injury or aging. The first on is explicit memory. Explicit memory is the system that stores concrete knowledge like faces, names, and multiplication facts. This is the knowledge that a person can call up consciously. Implicit memory is the way the brain stores information that isn?t assimilated or called up consciously.(Colliers Encyclopedia CD-ROM) Examples of this are shooting a basketball or stopping a car."
Abstract Modernism is the search for a universality. The break from this search is creatively named postmodernism. Postmodernism is the belief that there is no universal constant and that everything is subject to context. The Vietnam Veterans' Memorial is an example of postmodern architecture. The wall is significant because it is one of the first memorials in this country to break from the modern view of architecture. By using postmodern ideological criticism of the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial, this paper discovers that remembrance is a non-universal act, different for every person.
From the Paper "On April 19, 2000 the Oklahoma City Memorial opened to the public. The Memorial was built to remember the tragic events of five years earlier, the bombing of the Alfred P Murrah federal building in downtown Oklahoma City. The memorial was designed by Hans and Torrey Butzer. The Butzers were the winners of a competition pool of over 630 entries. The design for the memorial is based heavily on the postmodern nature of the Butzers? architectural upbringing. The University of Texas at Austin's school of architecture is known for its postmodern views of form and function."
Tags: city, communication, criticism, memorial, oklahoma, postmodern, rhetoric, rhetorical
Abstract This paper discusses the effects of repressed memories of child sexual abuse. The paper first examines the link between trauma and repressed memories. The paper then comments on the false memory debate. The rest of the paper is dedicated to a discussion of the lifetime effects of childhood sexual abuse, such as experiencing dissociative disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
