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Whose Justice? Which Future?

Svenungsson, Jayne LU orcid (2021) In Social and Critical Theory 27. p.115-127
Abstract
This paper was originally presented in a conversation with Christoph Türcke and Bernhard Waldenfels as part of the event The Future of Memory, which took place in Helsinki 2019. I here offer a reflection on the theme against the backdrop of recent developments in memory politics, both in my own Swedish context and more generally. My basic assumption, which is mirrored in the title, is that there is a close relation between memory politics and the ways in which we are able to conceive of the future. While the title of MacIntyre’s classical work Whose Justice, Which Rationality – which is alluded to in my own title – suggests that there is a correlation between ahistorical notions of rationality and poor conceptions of justice, I similarly... (More)
This paper was originally presented in a conversation with Christoph Türcke and Bernhard Waldenfels as part of the event The Future of Memory, which took place in Helsinki 2019. I here offer a reflection on the theme against the backdrop of recent developments in memory politics, both in my own Swedish context and more generally. My basic assumption, which is mirrored in the title, is that there is a close relation between memory politics and the ways in which we are able to conceive of the future. While the title of MacIntyre’s classical work Whose Justice, Which Rationality – which is alluded to in my own title – suggests that there is a correlation between ahistorical notions of rationality and poor conceptions of justice, I similarly contend that uniform constructions of the past tend to breed exclusory and potentially repressive visions of our future societies. An open and critical discussion of whose memory we tend to favour in our constructions of the past is therefore essential to our ability to conceive of the future in constructive and dynamic ways. It is also, I argue, essential for the future of memory itself as a critical element in any democratic society. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
memory studies, memory politics, poplulism, Peoples' Home, Christian legacy
host publication
To Understand What is Happening : Essays on Historicity - Essays on Historicity
series title
Social and Critical Theory
editor
Lindén, Jan-Ivar
volume
27
pages
115 - 127
publisher
Brill
ISSN
1572-459X
ISBN
978-90-04-46262-5
978-90-04-46261-8
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
945c1371-028b-4a77-a2af-76050d371230
date added to LUP
2021-01-24 14:08:04
date last changed
2024-02-04 02:47:14
@inbook{945c1371-028b-4a77-a2af-76050d371230,
  abstract     = {{This paper was originally presented in a conversation with Christoph Türcke and Bernhard Waldenfels as part of the event The Future of Memory, which took place in Helsinki 2019. I here offer a reflection on the theme against the backdrop of recent developments in memory politics, both in my own Swedish context and more generally. My basic assumption, which is mirrored in the title, is that there is a close relation between memory politics and the ways in which we are able to conceive of the future. While the title of MacIntyre’s classical work Whose Justice, Which Rationality – which is alluded to in my own title – suggests that there is a correlation between ahistorical notions of rationality and poor conceptions of justice, I similarly contend that uniform constructions of the past tend to breed exclusory and potentially repressive visions of our future societies. An open and critical discussion of whose memory we tend to favour in our constructions of the past is therefore essential to our ability to conceive of the future in constructive and dynamic ways. It is also, I argue, essential for the future of memory itself as a critical element in any democratic society.}},
  author       = {{Svenungsson, Jayne}},
  booktitle    = {{To Understand What is Happening : Essays on Historicity}},
  editor       = {{Lindén, Jan-Ivar}},
  isbn         = {{978-90-04-46262-5}},
  issn         = {{1572-459X}},
  keywords     = {{memory studies; memory politics; poplulism; Peoples' Home; Christian legacy}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{115--127}},
  publisher    = {{Brill}},
  series       = {{Social and Critical Theory}},
  title        = {{Whose Justice? Which Future?}},
  volume       = {{27}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}