Research on collective representations of the past after World War II to the cultural and social changes

Abstract

Authoress ask in this article to whether and to what extent the form of imaginations may likewise have an effect on intra-social processes of integration and formation of collective identities. There is no doubt that collective representations constitute an essential factor in the formation of collective identity. Nevertheless, from post-Freudian tradition’s perspective, their effect on community integration does not result from identification with its image and feelings of belonging among its members. On the contrary, collective representations functioning in the role of “imaginations of the other” (R. Phaller) lend themselves to fulfilling a more integrative role in late modern society than in traditional and modern societies, because current social models of behavior, due to their instability and the short time during which they are applicable, do not today exist exclusively so that one can identify with them.

The article relates to the question of the illusory nature and actually particular attractiveness of collective representations in the form of “imaginations of the other,” and the resulting consequences.