Remembering Ourselves: Construction and Reconstruction of Identity
Location
Beaman A&B
Presentation Type
Presentation
Start Date
26-10-2010 11:00 AM
Description
Memory brings structure and coherence to our sense of personal identity. As our lives unfold, past experiences shape not only our present sense of identity but the vision of ourselves in the future. Decades of psychological research, however, suggest that human memory is malleable at best and downright inaccurate at worst. This presentation will explore how human memory works, how it fails, and how the reconstruction of the past shapes our sense of who we are now and who we hope to become. Working within a constructive-developmental framework, our memories of seemingly random or insignificant events can restructure our identities and help reshape our lives. If a small breeze in Bangkok can help create a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic (the so-called butterfly effect), can the memory of a random event 30 years ago have profound effects on shaping personal identity today?
Recommended Citation
Giordano, Pete, "Remembering Ourselves: Construction and Reconstruction of Identity" (2010). Humanities Symposium. 24.
https://repository.belmont.edu/humanities_symposium/2010/2010/24
Remembering Ourselves: Construction and Reconstruction of Identity
Beaman A&B
Memory brings structure and coherence to our sense of personal identity. As our lives unfold, past experiences shape not only our present sense of identity but the vision of ourselves in the future. Decades of psychological research, however, suggest that human memory is malleable at best and downright inaccurate at worst. This presentation will explore how human memory works, how it fails, and how the reconstruction of the past shapes our sense of who we are now and who we hope to become. Working within a constructive-developmental framework, our memories of seemingly random or insignificant events can restructure our identities and help reshape our lives. If a small breeze in Bangkok can help create a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic (the so-called butterfly effect), can the memory of a random event 30 years ago have profound effects on shaping personal identity today?
Comments
Convo: AL