Beyond Trauma. Researching Memory on My Doorstep

Sarah Gensburger (1)

1 ISP - Institut des Sciences sociales du Politique

In November 2015, the city of Paris experienced major terrorist attacks, most of which happened in my district. My neighborhood became the stage for major grassroot memorials. As it happens, I am a sociologist of memory. The phenomena I had been studying in places far removed from my everyday life were now unfolding on my doorstep. For almost a year, I kept sociological chronicles of this memorialization process. In this chapter, I revisit this research from a methodological perspective: What are the benefits, and difficulties, of interweaving fieldwork and everyday life in the study of memory? And what social dynamics are taking place, beyond trauma?

Domaines: Science politique; Sociologie

Sarah Gensburger. Beyond Trauma. Researching Memory on My Doorstep. Drozdzewski Danielle; Birdsall Carolyn. Doing Memory Research. New Methods and Approaches, Palgrave, pp.109-218, 2018, 978-981-13-1410-0. ⟨halshs-01977984⟩