Abstract
This essay addresses the dialectical relationship between memory and oblivion that is characteristic of contemporary societies. It describes how this complex relationship presents itself in different institutional and cultural settings, such as museums, public archives, and politics of memory, pointing to its central place in a time that unfolds under the banner of innovation. Such a phenomenology of the modern historical consciousness raises at least three main questions: do our societies really suffer from an excess of history? Are there limits to the practical use of the past? Should we resort to a broader concept of history in order to better explain our own civilizational situation?
Keywords:
civilizational acceleration; historical consciousness; historical explanation