Yitzhak Rabin's assassination and the dilemmas of commemoration /

Somewhat unconventionally but provocatively, sociologist Vinitzky-Seroussi (Hebrew Univ.) locates in her acknowledgments how the 1995 assassination of Israel's prime minister prompted this study of the complexities and significance of commemoration. What follows is a richly theorized and well-researched exploration of the contours and toponymy of the "map of memory" that locates Rabin as "a highly present absence" in time and space. More generally, the author's objective is to go beyond the sociological interpretation of commemoration alone and gain insights into "other social processes and phenomena." To this end, an exposition of the nature of collective memory, social memory, popular memory, cultural memory, and official memory leads to the deconstruction of the four pillars of the sociology of commemoration: agency, time, space, and narrative. Of necessity, the focus on Rabin's assassination as an example of "difficult pasts" requires an analysis of how it is embedded and contextualized in the odyssey of the invention and dream of Israeliness. As the author declares, this book is about "the sociology of commemoration and the struggle to make others remember what many wish to forget." The book includes efficient referencing, a comprehensive bibliography, and a valuable appendix, "On Methods," that outlines the qualitative methodology. Sparsely illustrated. Summing Up: Recommended. Most levels/libraries. B. Osborne Queen's University at Kingston