{"id":55016,"date":"2026-08-19T13:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T11:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/?p=55016"},"modified":"2026-08-18T23:08:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T21:08:01","slug":"sebastien-ledoux-the-duty-of-memory-changing-language-in-the-era-of-memory-1970-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/?p=55016","title":{"rendered":"S\u00e9bastien Ledoux, \u201eThe Duty of Memory: Changing Language in the Era of Memory, 1970 \u2013 2010\u201c"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Within France, the expression \u201cduty of memory\u201d (<em>devoir de m\u00e9moire)&nbsp;<\/em>speaks to a complex and ever-evolving relationship with the past. Emerging in the 1970s, this term raised questions about memorialization which dominated public debates in the 1990s, highlighting France\u2019s entanglements with colonialism and the Holocaust. Drawing on a variety of interviews, archival sources, and data surveys, author S\u00e9bastien Ledoux spotlights how the trajectory of this term offers a lens for understanding contemporary societies\u2019 relationship with the past on a global scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Biography&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>S\u00e9bastien Ledoux<\/strong>&nbsp;is a historian and senior lecturer at the Universit\u00e9 de Picardie Jules Verne. His work focuses on the political, social, and cultural aspects of memory in contemporary societies. He is the author of several books:&nbsp;<em>Le devoir de m\u00e9moire<\/em>&nbsp;(CNRS Editions, 2016),&nbsp;<em>La nation en r\u00e9cit<\/em>&nbsp;(Belin Editeur, 2021), and&nbsp;<em>Histoire et m\u00e9moires<\/em>&nbsp;(CNRS Editions, 2024). In addition to this, he has edited several collected works on a variety of topics, including digital memories, memory laws, teaching, and colonial memories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Table of Contents<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Introduction: Inventing the Origins of \u201cDuty of Memory\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Part I: Emergence (Pre-1992)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chapter 1.The Sign of a New Language of Memory<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chapter 2. The \u201cMemory of Auschwitz,\u201d a New Reference in the Present<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chapter 3. The Invention of \u201cMemory Policy\u201d (1980s)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Part II: Proliferation (1992-1993)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chapter 4. Publicization of \u201cDuty of Memory\u201d as Part of a Rhetoric of Denunciation (1992)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chapter 5. \u201cDuty of Memory\u201d as an Official Expression (1993)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chapter 6. A Sociohistorical Analysis of the Crystallization of \u201cDuty of Memory\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Part III: Grammar (1995-2005)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chapter 7. The Memory of Holocaust as a Frame of Reference<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chapter 8. A Tool for Mobilizing Other Memories<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chapter 9. \u201cGovernance of the Past\u201d: The Example of the Vote on \u201cMemory Laws\u201d (1998-2005)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Part IV: Defiance (2000-2012)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chapter 10. Criticism of Scientific Discourse<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chapter 11. Political Distancing<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chapter 12. \u201cDuty of Memory\u201d: A Shift to the Local Level<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Conclusion: Duty of Memory: A Global History<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bibliography<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Index<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Published in July 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ISBN: 978-1-83695-041-7<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>288 pages<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.berghahnbooks.com\/title\/LedouxDuty#toc\">https:\/\/www.berghahnbooks.com\/title\/LedouxDuty<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;imageId&quot;:&quot;6a85b157b94b8&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"6a85b157b94b8\" class=\"wp-block-image size-full wp-lightbox-container\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"598\" data-attachment-id=\"55017\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/?attachment_id=55017\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/The-Duty-of-Memory.jpg?fit=400%2C598&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"400,598\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"The Duty of Memory\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/The-Duty-of-Memory.jpg?fit=400%2C598&amp;ssl=1\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/The-Duty-of-Memory.jpg?resize=400%2C598&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-55017\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/The-Duty-of-Memory.jpg?w=400&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/The-Duty-of-Memory.jpg?resize=201%2C300&amp;ssl=1 201w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><button\n\t\t\tclass=\"lightbox-trigger\"\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\taria-haspopup=\"dialog\"\n\t\t\taria-label=\"Uve\u0107aj\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--right=\"state.imageButtonRight\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--top=\"state.imageButtonTop\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":55017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-knjige","category-novosti"],"acf":{"facebook_opis":"\"Within France, the expression \u201cduty of memory\u201d (devoir de m\u00e9moire)\u00a0speaks to a complex and ever-evolving relationship with the past. Emerging in the 1970s, this term raised questions about memorialization which dominated public debates in the 1990s, highlighting France\u2019s entanglements with colonialism and the Holocaust. Drawing on a variety of interviews, archival sources, and data surveys, author S\u00e9bastien Ledoux spotlights how the trajectory of this term offers a lens for understanding contemporary societies\u2019 relationship with the past on a global scale.\""},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/The-Duty-of-Memory.jpg?fit=400%2C598&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":52641,"url":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/?p=52641","url_meta":{"origin":55016,"position":0},"title":"CfP: WHO OWNS THE PAST? 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