Traces of Collective Memory: Exploring the Shared Meanings of the Zeve Artyrs’ Memorial

Year 2025, Volume: 29 Issue: 1, 1 - 15, 25.03.2025

Mehmet Karasu , Uğur Bozkurt

https://doi.org/10.53487/atasobed.1485863

Abstract

In this study, we examined the Zeve Martyrs’ Memorial as a collective memory builder and shaper, exploring the content and structure of shared meanings surrounding the memorial. A total of 481 university students participated in the study (Female = 341; Male = 140). To explore the content and structure of representations related to the Zeve Martyrs’ Memorial, participants were instructed to spontaneously write down the first four words that came to mind when prompted with “the Zeve Martyrs’ Memorial.” They then ranked these words based on free association, providing hierarchical association data. The word association test data were subjected to prototype analysis and similarity analysis using the IRAMUTEQ program. The results of this mixed-design study reveal that the shared meanings associated with the Zeve Martyrs’ Memorial are as follows: a) underscore the endurance of the tragedy through national and religious symbols; b) accentuate negative experiences within the tragedy; and c) exhibit a greater focus on intragroup processes than intergroup processes. Thorough examination of the personal- and group-level functions of these shared meanings is given. Both sets of results contribute to the literature on social representation and collective memory and underscore the importance of recontextualizing the Zeve Martyrs’ Memorial to enrich human experience.

Keywords

memorial, collective memory, social representations, Van, Türkiye

Ethical Statement

Ethics committee approval was secured from Van Yuzuncu Yil University (16/03/2023, No: 14826).

Supporting Institution

This study was conducted within the scope of a research project funded by Van Yüzüncü Yıl University titled “A Memorial on the Border of Remembering and Forgetting: The Zeve Martyrs’ Memorial.” (Project No: SYD-2023-1 0607).

Project Number

SYD-2023-1 0607

Thanks

None

Kolektı̇f Hafızanın İzlerı̇: Zeve Şehı̇tlerı̇ Anıtı’nın Paylaşılan Anlamlarının İncelenmesi

Abstract

Bu araştırma, Zeve Şehitleri Anıtı’nı kolektif bellek oluşturan ve şekillendiren bir bağlama oturtarak anıtla ilgili sosyal temsillerin içeriğini ve yapısını mercek altına almaktadır. Çalışmaya toplam 481 üniversite öğrencisi katılmıştır (Kadın = 341; Erkek = 140). Zeve Şehitleri Anıtı ile ilgili temsillerin içeriğini ve yapısını keşfetmek için katılımcılardan “Zeve Şehitleri Anıtı” denildiğinde kendiliğinden akıllarına gelen ilk dört kelimeyi yazmaları istenmiştir. Daha sonra, katılımcılar bu kelimeleri kendileri için önem derecesine göre sıralayarak hiyerarşik çağrışım verileri elde edilmiştir. Kelime çağrışım testi verileri IRAMUTEQ programı aracılığıyla prototip analizi ve benzerlik analizine tabi tutulmuştur. Bu karma desenli çalışmanın sonuçları, anıtla ilgili temsillerin a) ulusal ve dini sembollerin kullanımı yoluyla hayatta kalmayı ve trajediyi anlamlandırdığını, b) yaşanan trajediyle ilişkili katliam ve üzüntü gibi olumsuz deneyimleri vurguladığını ve c) gruplar arası dinamikler yerine grup içi süreçlere daha fazla odaklandığını ortaya koymaktadır. Bu paylaşılan anlamların kişisel ve grup düzeyindeki işlevleri kapsamlı bir şekilde incelenmiştir. Bu sonuçlar sosyal temsiller ve kolektif bellek literatürüne katkıda bulunmakta ve insan deneyimini zenginleştirmek için Zeve Şehitleri Anıtı’nın yeniden bağlamsallaştırılmasının önemini vurgulamaktadır.

Keywords

Anıt, kolektif bellek, sosyal temsiller, Van, Türkiye

Project Number

SYD-2023-1 0607

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