The concept of memory is complex and seldom invoked in precisely the same sense, hence the ramifications, traditions, and histories, which are conflated in their current usages, need to be unpacked and evaluated. The first section of Memory lays out the theoretical foundations for the study of memory today, referencing such seminal figures and theorists in the field as Sigmund Freud, Walter Benjamin, Cathy Caruth, Marianne Hirsch, and Susannah Radstone. It also provides a brief discussion of classical and medieval studies of mnemotechnica to place the recent ‘memory boom’ in a broader context and draws on the vivid example of Tadeusz Kantor’s Wielopole, Wielopole (1980) to demonstrate the impact of memory discourse on modernist and neo-avant-garde theatre and performance.
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