Question

Memory is more likely to be activated by contestation and amnesia induced by a desire for reconciliation." What do you think Kammen means by this? Try to be as specific as possible in your answer.

Answer 1

As Michael Kamman notes in the quotation "Memory is more likely to be activated by contestation and amnesia induced by a desire for reconciliation." which means that memory is activated or stirred by the controversy or contestation associated with the past whereas amnesia comes from the willingness or desire of reconciliation of the past.

It is preferably noticeable in the case of the Civil War and civil rights movement. It is depoliticized over the years that it started the forgetfulness among a large group of people.