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28.11.2019

The National University of Ireland was delighted to host a lecture by Professor Guy Beiner, the winner of the 2019 NUI Irish Historical Research Prize. The lecture entitled Forgetting in the Decade of Commemorations: New Directions for Irish Historical Research was held in NUI offices at 49 Merrion Square.

In his lecture, Prof Beiner reflected on Ireland’s commemorations of historical events and how this has stimulated many studies on history and remembrance, which have in part contributed to a world-wide ‘memory boom’. By examining the concept that memory is inextricably intertwined with forgetting, the lecture focused on the original concept of ‘social forgetting’, challenging standard notions of ‘collective memory’, drawing attention to limitations in what historians can do in helping us to understand the past and pointing to the contributions of other disciplines such as sociology and anthropology, in all demonstrating the potential for a more complex understanding of the interplay of history and memory.

The response to Prof Beiner’s lecture was eloquently provided by Professor James Kelly, Head of School of History and Geography, DCU, who while accepting its limitations, defined the particular contribution of the historian noting Professor Beiner’s work as a powerful exemplar. He paid tribute to Forgetful Remembrance: Social Forgetting and Vernacular Historiography of a Rebellion in Ulster for the breadth of its range, the depth of its erudition and scholarship and the profundity of its substance.

Professor Beiner was presented with the 2019 NUI Irish Historical Research Prize for his book Forgetful Remembrance: Social Forgetting and Vernacular Historiography of a Rebellion in Ulster (Oxford University Press, 2018) at the NUI Awards Ceremony 2019 that took place in the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday 26 November 2019.

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Video of the lecture

Photos from the lecture

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