BOOK REVIEWS
psy 03_09 p220_221 book rev:Layout 1
16/2/09
15:24
Page 220
A book to remember Few topics are more fascinating than memory, seemingly woven into the fabric of whatever makes us human, and what enthusiasm the thought of studying it at university level usually elicits in the psychology undergraduate! However, before you go all Proustian, you are told, ‘Hold the madeleine!’ – for the study of memory seems to become a game of word completion under experimental conditions, or a photographic negative, whereby we learn about memory from neurological patients who have lost different facets of the ability to remember. All this is fascinating, but it may still leave students (and lecturers) with the impression that memory is like a big box divided into smaller boxes (with different theories as to the criteria for this division) and, ultimately, with a sense that there is a ‘bigger picture’ that eludes us. Kurt Danziger’s latest book is set to change this state of affairs. Danziger considers that, although psychology is a relatively new discipline, the concept of memory pre-exists it by millennia, with different meanings in different historical and geographical contexts. He uncovers what has been there all along but a conspiracy of silence has kept hidden: that memory is far from an ahistorical, static concept. What shines through this book is the effort that has been spent by psychology to keep memory and its investigation isolated, eliding the sociality underlying any form of remembering, and the neglect of the role that socio-economic conditions and power have played in shaping understandings of memory through (mainly Western) history. One example is the rise of medical discourse (with the attendant separation of ‘expert’ and ‘lay’ knowledge), which produced a proliferation of terms and diagnoses around memory and forgetting in the second Marking the Mind: part of the 19th century, from ‘suggestion’ and A History of Memory ‘suggestibility’, to ‘paramnesia’ – ‘“remembering” things Kurt Danziger that were never there in the first place’ – to repressed memories. It is a fascinating and sometimes uphill journey – with Plato, Aristotle, Descartes and Locke used to illuminate the philosophical underpinnings of memory – but the book is relatively accessible to the reader who has no background in philosophy. It is a great read from cover to cover, which makes it difficult to single out a topic; my personal preference is for the pages that describe the transition between oral tradition and the consolidation of literacy, the time when the idea of memory as ‘inscription’ began to take shape. According to Danziger, Plato, with his ambivalence towards writing, which he saw as ‘the freezing of living memory’, highlights this shift: ‘placed in a transitional situation…Plato was able to discern complexities in the relation of literacy and memory that became increasingly invisible to subsequent generations’. Another favourite is the ‘reminder’ (lame pun intended) of how prescient Frederic Bartlett was in interrogating a ‘static’ view of memory, arguing that ‘remembering’ (an activity, and a continuous one at that) would be a more appropriate conceptualisation, and in his attention to the social aspects of remembering. ‘Social organization’, he stated, ‘gives a persistent framework into which all detailed recall must fit, and it very powerfully influences both the matter and the manner of recall’ (Bartlett, 1932/1995, p.296). As Danziger notes, these insights were neglected until the emergence of discursive psychology towards the end of the century. In conclusion, this is a book to remember! Reference Bartlett, F.C. (1995). Remembering: A study in experimental and social psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Original work published 1932)
I Cambridge University Press; 2008; Pb £23.99 Reviewed by Toni Brennan who is in the Department of Psychology, University of Surrey
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Thought-provoking Creativity, Mental Illness and Crime Russell Eisenman Eisenman begins by looking at the relationship between creativity and mental illness in prisoners. He uses data from his own research and experience, as well as from several different sources, to reflect upon other issues also, such as the desirability of the death penalty; availability of drugs in schools; characteristics of adolescent sex offenders; and mistreatment of mentally ill individuals in prison treatment programmes. Although these topics are interesting in their own right, Eisenman fails to provide a unified theme that links the issues mentioned in the title. Instead, he considers topics that could be viewed as largely unrelated, leaving the reader somewhat confused about the agenda of this work. Although it is difficult to grasp the aim and purpose of the book, each chapter is written in a direct and honest manner, which ultimately provides insight into Eisenman’s interests on what are arguably neglected areas of research. However, this book should not be treated as another academic book but considered simply as one that is thought-provoking and highlights avenues for further research. I Kendall/Hunt; 2008; Pb £25.00 Reviewed by Lisa Halley who is an assistant psychologist in the Forensic Directorate, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde
vol 22 no 3
march 2009