Institute of Sociology NASU

Commemorative Practices in the focus of sociological theories: from Halbwachs to digital memory studies

stmm. 2025 (4): 101-125

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/sociology2025.04.101

Full text: https://stmm.in.ua/archive/ukr/2025-4/7.pdf

OKSANA PROKHVATILOVA, PhD Candidate, Applied Sociology and Social Communications Department, V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (4, Freedom Square, Kharkiv, Ukraine, 61022)

o.prohvatilova@gmail.com

https://orcid.org/0009-0005-3059-8546

This article analyzes theoretical approaches to the conceptualization of social memory and their potential application in the study of commemorative practices. Based on Barbara Misztal’s typology (Misztal, 2003), four key directions are examined: the concept of social frameworks of memory (M. Halbwachs), theories of invented traditions (E. Hobsbawm), popular memory and contemporary dynamic memory approaches. It is shown that the sociological perspective goes beyond reducing memory to either instruments of state policy or personal narratives detached from the social context. The sociological level allows tracing the interaction of institutions, social groups, and individuals in processes of remembering.

Dynamic memory theories are identified as the most promising, as they account for the multi-level interaction of various actors. In this context, social solidarity emerges not as a result of unified traditions or the opposition of memory and counter-memory, but as a consequence of continuous dialogue and consensus about the past. The roles of the state, institutions, social groups, and individuals as agents of action are highlighted, as well as the impact of digital technologies shaping new forms of memory. Special attention is paid to the “connective turn” (A. Hoskins) and the spread of artificial intelligence technologies as factors of hybrid agency.

Recent Ukrainian studies, which predominantly rely on historiographical interpretations of memory, are also analyzed. Increasing attention is being given to sociological approaches. It is concluded that sociology can overcome the limitations of both state-centered and individualist models, providing tools to analyze the interaction of actors at various levels. This approach lays the groundwork for the development of contemporary memory studies in Ukraine, capable of integrating Ukrainian scholarship into a global context and offering appropriate theoretical frameworks and methodologies for analyzing a wide range of commemorative practices.

Keywords: social memory; commemorative practices; memorial media; sociology of memory; memory dynamics; contemporary sociological theories

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Received 25.08.2025