The quotation marks have a certain importance: Prospects for a 'memory studies'

There are parallels between the emergence of 'memory studies' as a domain of enquiry and the development of 'sexuality studies'. Both confront the difficulty of engaging with a central referent whose historical, cultural and ontological status is indeterminate. Reviewing a selection of articles from the first issue of Memory Studies, three sets of obstacles to be addressed in the area are identified. First, there is the difficulty of arriving at a common conception of memory. It is suggested that inclusive support for rival and conflicting conceptions may be appropriate. Second, the common interdisciplinary dilemma of creating links between distinct levels of analysis is particularly acute. Transversal concepts and links may be more productive here. Third, there is the challenge of building academic community across disciplines and traditions. Rather than seek to substantivize 'memory' further, the notion of mediation is offered in its place as the basis for such a community-to-come.