Mobius Time: Metamorphoses of Memory in American War Anthropology

Abstract

The paper considers some trends of American war anthropology, which tries to overcome traditional heroic and tragic narratives. The researchers are interested not just in a critique of militarism and the subordination of civilian life to military strategies for behavior, but in fragmentary and fragmented combatant's stories about everyday life at war and at home. How do social frameworks, ordinary practices of commemoration, and personal narratives interact? The article considers the works of Z. Wool, K. Lutz, K. MacLeish, E. Finley, D. Price, etc. Especially important in their debates is the temporal dimension of combatant's experience. They find themselves on the crossroad of past and present, in the "Mobius time” (Z.Wool). It becomes very difficult to divide affective acting-out of the past and its actual working-through. Often both the ways are used by the memory politics as resource for doubtful identities construction. That's why positive coming to terms with the past becomes very important, and it could be a basis for the new forms of social solidarity. In the context of the discussion about "anahronizme" it is important to note that veteran's memory can't be seen as a conscious "loyalty to the past". Their fates, commemorative practices and communities must be considered as close as possible to reality, rather than to the theory of history. Finally, author identifies some of the opportunities and challenges of transfer American military anthropology ideas in relation to Russian history of the twentieth century.