Since the publication of Pierre Nora's landmark anthology 'Lieux de Mémoire' two decades ago, collective memory has become one of the most intensely studied topics across a wide range of academic disciplines. Focusing mainly, but not exclusively, on the United States of America, this volume contributes to the ongoing debate about the complex modes and meanings of communal remembrance past and present. Individual essays revisit and rework Nora's conceptualization of (post-) modern memory and reexamine the intricate relationship between personal memory, collective memory, and history. Authors discuss communal recollections as a vehicle for cultural recognition and explore the uses and abuses of memory discourses in domestic and international politics.

Other contributions address the role of memory in the context of ethnicity, immigration, and transnationalism, and analyze the representational strategies and cultural implications of visualized and virtualized memories. Combining theoretical approaches with empirical case studies, The 'Merits of Memory' takes stock of the current state of the field and suggests potential trajectories for the future study of collective memory.