Halbwachs, Maurice (1877–1945)

Maurice Halbwachs, a French sociologist in the Durkheimian tradition, conducted a variety of sociological projects. His most important contribution to sociological thought was his work on memory and knowledge, including Les cadres sociaux de la mémoire (1925, Social Frameworks of Memory) and the posthumously published work La mémoire collective (1950, On Collective Memory). The latter book, despite its skeletal character, contains Halbwachs's thoughts on the relation between time, space, and collective memory, along with crucial definitions and applications of distinctions between individual, historical, and collective memories. It also includes a sketch on relations between legal institutions and collective memory. Scholars have recently rediscovered Halbwachs's works on the sociology of knowledge, but they still have not received the recognition they deserve.

Halbwachs was born in Reims, France. ...

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