Abstract
Knowledge, recollection, and memory are the basics for the construction and characteristics of a cultural identity, which is built on a “me-” and a “we-identity” and which is fixed in the collective memory. According to J. Assmann, the collective memory is composed of the communicative and the cultural memory, the operational modes of which depend on the level of a society’s orality and literality. The Calé (Gitanos)–the Romani people in Spain, who are in transition between orality and literality–are chosen for an analysis of the importance that the different types of memory have for the formation and change of culture and cultural identity. Flamenco as an oral mode of expression and distinction is shown to be a fundamental link in the identity construction of the Gitanos.
Key words
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Assmann, A. (2004). Zur Mediengeschichte des kulturellen Gedächtnisses [On the history of media of the cultural memory]. In A. Erl & A. Nünning (Eds.), Medien des kollektiven Gedächtnisses. Konstruktivität—Historizität—Kulturspezifität (pp. 45–60). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.
Assmann, J. (1992). Das kulturelle Gedächtnis. Schrift, Erinnerung und politische Identität in frühen Hochkulturen [Cultural memory: Writing, remembering, and political identity in early advanced civilizations]. Munich: C. H. Beck.
Baecker, D. (2010). Was ist Kultur? Und einige Anschlussüberlegungen zum Kulturmanagement, zur Kulturpolitik und zur Evaluation von Kulturprojekten [What is culture? And a few additional thoughts on the cultural management, cultural policy, and evaluation of cultural projects]. Retrieved June 30, 2010, from http://www.dirkbaecker.com/WasistKultur.pdf
Bundesministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Kultur, Österreichisches Sprachen-Kompetenz-Zentrum (Eds.) (2002). Der Zusammenhang von Sprache und Kultur am Beispiel der Burgenland-Romani [The relation between language and culture among the Romani in Burgenland]. Graz, Austria: Österreichisches Sprachen-Kompetenz-Zentrum.
de Andalucia, J. & Instituto de Estadística de Andalucía. (2006). Revisiones del padrón municipal de Andalucía [Revision of the municipal registry of Andalusia]. Retrieved January 1, 2006, from http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/institutodeestadistica/padron/revpad.htm
Derrida, J. (1988). Signatur Ereignis Kontext [Signature event context]. In P. Engelmann (Ed.), Randgänge der Philosophie (pp. 291–362). Vienna: Passagen.
Foucault, M. (1978). Dispositive der Macht. Über Sexualität, Wissen und Wahrheit [Dispositives of power: On sexuality, knowledge and truth]. Berlin: Merve Verlag.
Grande, F. (1999). Memoria del Flamenco [Flamenco memoirs]. Madrid: Alianza Editorial.
Halbwachs, M. (1966). Das Gedächtnis und seine sozialen Bedingungen [The social frameworks of memory]. Berlin: Luchterhand. (Original work published 1925)
Hastrup, K. (1989). Kultur som analytisk begreb [Culture as an analytical concept]. In K. Hastrup & K. Ramløv (Eds.), Kulturanalyse. Fortolkningens forløb i antropologien (pp. 11–25). Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag.
Hübschmannová, M. (2002). Herkunft der Roma [Origins of the Roma]. Prague: Rombase.
Infante, B. (1980). Orígenes de lo flamenco y secreto del cante jondo [Origin of Flamenco and the secret of the cante jondo (deep song)]. Seville: Junta de Andalucía, Consejería de Cultura edition.
Kenrick, D. (1998). Sinti und Roma: Von Indien bis zum Mittelmeer. Die Wanderwege der Sinti und Roma [Sinti and Roma: The migration paths of the Sinti and Roma from India to the Mediterranean Sea]. Interface Connection 3, Berlin, Germany: Parabolis.
Luhmann, N. (1995). Kultur als historischer Begriff [Culture as a historical concept]. In N. Luhmann (Ed.), Gesellschaftsstruktur und Semantik: Studien zur Wissenssoziologie der modernen Gesellschaft (Vol. 4, pp. 31–54). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
Luhmann, N. (1997). Die Gesellschaft der Gesellschaft [The society of society] (Vol. 1, pt. 1). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
Molina, R., & Mairena, A. (1971). Mundo y formas del cante flamenco [World and forms of flamenco singing]. Seville: Librería Al-Andalus.
Pohren, D. E. (1962/2005). The art of flamenco. Westport, CT: The Bold Strummer.
Polanyi, M. (1985). Implizites Wissen [Implicit knowledge]. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
Proust, M. (1979). Auf der Suche nach der verlorenen Zeit [In search of lost time or remembrance of things past] (E. Rechel-Mertens, Trans.) (Vol. 1). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. (Original work published 1913)
Rishi, W. R. (1996). Roma-The Panjabi emigrants Europe, Central and Middle Asia, the USSR, and the Americas. Patiala, India: Punjabi University.
Schein, E. H. (1985). Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Teichmann, M. (2001). Geschichte der Vlach-Roma [History of the Vlach-Roma]. Graz, Austria: Rombase. Retrieved July 5, 2010, from http://romani.uni-graz.at/rombase/index.html
Unión Romaní. (2006). El Pueblo Gitano [The Rroma people]. Retrieved November 30, 2006, from http://www.unionromani.org/pueblo_es.htm#distribucion
West, C. (2007a). Gedächtnis—Kultur—Raum. Zur Identitätskonstruktion der Roma (“Gitanos”) in Spanien [Memory—Culture—Space: Identity construction of the Roma (“Gitanos”) in Spain]. Geographische Rundschau, 59(7–8), 44–52.
West, C. (2007b). Barcelona—Ciutat Inovadora. Innovation und Tradition in der Stadtentwicklung der katalanischen Metropole [Barcelona—innovative city: Innovation and tradition in the urban development of the Catalan metropolis]. In T. Esser & T. D. Stegmann (Eds.), Kataloniens Rückkehr nach Europa 1976–2006: Geschichte, Politik, Kultur und Wirtschaft (pp. 239–262). Berlin: LIT-Verlag.
West, C., & Griesbeck, J. (2009). Die andere Dimension des Spiels: Streetfootballworld festival 06—zur Rekonstruktion der Verknüpfung von Gewalt, Verwundbarkeit und Identität über Erinnerung, Gedächtnis, Kommunikation und Raum [The other dimension of the game: Streetfootballworld festival 06—Reconstruction of the link between violence, vulnerability, and identity by recollection, memory, communication, space, and place]. In S. Bogusch, A. Spellerberg, H. H. Topp, & C. West (Eds.), Organisation und Folgewirkung von Großveranstaltungen—Interdisziplinäre Studien zur FIFA Fussball-WM 2006™ (pp. 191–225). Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
West, C. (2011). Memory—Recollection—Culture—Identity—Space: Social Context, Identity Formation, and Self-construction of the Calé (Gitanos) in Spain. In: Meusburger, P., Heffernan, M., Wunder, E. (eds) Cultural Memories. Knowledge and Space, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8945-8_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8945-8_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-8944-1
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-8945-8
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawSocial Sciences (R0)