This Is Not a Memoir

Memory is not a continuous, linear story. It is a series of disparate polyphonic fragments that overlap, disappear and re-emerge. Memory fails, distorts, and sometimes completely betrays. Personal identity is fundamentally shaped by this process - it is constantly changing, it is incomplete, and often borders on fiction. Why do we sometimes fail to remember certain events, places and objects? Social anthropologist Paul Connerton, best known for his work on social and bodily memory, links the concept of 'forgetting' to stability - he argues that modern society and its speed affects our ability to remember things. But he also says that through bodily practices, collective and individual memories are maintained, making the body central to personal and social identity.