Memorial ceremonies in schools: analyzing the entanglement of emotions and power

Abstract

This paper explores the emotional aspects of memorial ceremonies at schools and underscores the power relations that are marshaled to mobilize certain emotions for particular versions of national memory. To show the entanglement of emotion and power, the paper is divided into two segments. The first is analytic-conceptual and theorizes school memorial ceremonies as vehicles of emotion and power in the formation of national memory; to this end, the author draws on the work of Foucault, Collins and Billig. The second part of the paper is empirical and draws on the author’s ethnographic research on emotion and national memory in Greek-Cypriot schools. The analysis shows not only how some emotions become ‘sedimented’ through ritual practices in schools and relations of power but also how emotions become contingent and challenge hegemonic versions of national memory.

Keywords:

• emotions
• power
• schools
• memorial ceremonies
• national memory

Acknowledgments

The author thanks Jonathan G. Heaney, Helena Flam and the two reviewers who offered useful feedback on earlier versions.

Notes

1. In her most recent work, Lomsky-Feder (2011) builds on her previous research and shows how social groups in Israel conduct school memorial ceremonies that promote different kinds of nationalism. For example, there is ‘heroic nationalism’ which emphasizes heroic emotions such as patriotism, national pride and self-sacrifice. Alongside these heroic emotions, argues Lomsky-Feder, there is also what she calls ‘traumatic nationalism’, a kind of nationalism that departs from the warrior ethos and places mourning and a feeling of victimhood at its center; these emotions are maintained to perpetuate particular power differentials at the moral or political levels (Barkan 2000). According to Lomsky-Feder, elements from both forms of nationalism permeate into memorial ceremonies at schools and compete for a place in national narratives.

2. The case of the ‘missing persons’ constitutes one of the most tragic aspects of the ethnic conflict between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots in Cyprus (see Sant Cassia 2005). Between 1963 and 1974, over 2,000 persons from both communities disappeared in Cyprus. The initial number of the Greek Cypriot missing persons was 1,619; the Turkish Cypriots claim 803 missing persons. The Greek Cypriots claim their missing from the 1974 Turkish invasion (or Peace Operation as it is known in Turkey), while the Turkish Cypriots claim their own missing from the hostilities between 1963 and 1974. In July 2007, the case of the missing persons took a new direction, after the first remains of both Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots were buried in strongly emotional public ceremonies, after being identified with DNA testing (see Zembylas 2011). Since then, the remains of almost 800 individuals have been exhumed from different burial sites located across the island.

3. The ethnographic observations were conducted by a research assistant and/or by the author.

4. Based on the 1960 constitution of Cyprus, responsibility for education was assigned to two separate communal chambers (a colonial legacy that continued), the Greek communal chamber and the Turkish communal chamber. Therefore, the educational systems of each community were completely influenced by the ‘motherlands’ (Greece and Turkey, respectively) and thus education had a clear ethnopolitical line within each community. For example, in the Greek-Cypriot educational system, there is now ample evidence that school textbooks and curricula, as well as national rituals, symbols and celebrations in schools and the society inspire negative stereotypes and hatred towards the other community (Bryant 2004, Spyrou 2006, Papadakis 2008).

5. School-based ceremonies and commemorations are rather typical in Greek-Cypriot schools. On the average, there is at least one such ceremony every 1–2 weeks; there are approximately 28 such events taking place throughout the school year (see Ministry of Education and Culture 2012).

6. Heroism, victimhood, peace and pain are not ‘emotions’ in themselves, but rather emotional themes that have emotional power which can be channeled to different directions. In my detailed analysis of the ceremonies, I have not introduced any distinctions among emotions, values and opinions because my goal has been to provide a general ‘feeling’ of each ceremony. Although there is some lack of clarity in this approach – e.g. it may not be always clear whether ‘self-sacrifice’ is an emotional theme, a value or a concept – what is important for the purpose of this paper is how emotional power is channeled into different directions. Therefore, a tight boundary among emotions, values and opinions may be impractical; it is the interrelation among emotions, values and opinions that matters most in describing how emotional power is channeled.

7. This idea does not imply that previous societies used to unquestionably accept such values. Alexander’s point is that there has been a noticeable shift in the nonacceptance of canonical ritual processes during the last century. At the same time, this idea does not suggest any grand generalizations pertaining to school ritual ceremonies.