Dialogic remembering as method
Activating relationality in memories of postsocialist “transitions”
This article develops a method for understanding and activating relationality in practices of sharing memories in groups. Our conceptualization of this approach, which we have called “dialogic remembering,” is grounded in empirical research on memories of the 1980s–1990s postsocialist “transitions” as a case of a recent past that has been increasingly instrumentalized for political contestation but that comprises multifaceted “living memories.” This research involved a series of workshops with local citizens that took place in museums working with memories of transition periods in Poland and Germany, both in larger cities (Gdańsk, Berlin) and (post)industrial towns (Łódź, Eisenhüttenstadt). The article outlines a micro-perspective on memory processes applied in designing, conducting and analyzing the exchange of divergent memories that thematizes differences and traces the emergence of relationality-in-conflict. In addition to identifying several types of dialogic remembering practices, we reflect on their possible effects, including the enhanced mnemonic agency of the participants.
