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New York Times
03-06-2025
- General
- New York Times
Pierre Nora, 93, Who Probed Role of Memory in Writing of History, Dies
Pierre Nora, a French scholar whose ideas about the role of memory and identity in the writing of history gained prominence both in France and abroad, and who became a kingpin in his country's intellectual community through his great influence over publishing, died on Monday in Paris. He was 93. His death, in a hospital, was confirmed by his son, Elphège Nora, who said the cause was multiple organ failures. Mr. Nora's major contribution to historiography was the concept of 'lieux de mémoire' ('sites of memory'), a term he coined to describe elements of the past that a community chooses to remember and which become symbolic of a shared identity. Examples would be Joan of Arc, the national anthem 'La Marseillaise' and the rooster — 'le coq gaulois' — as an unofficial icon of France. This concept has been highly influential in the field of memory studies, shaping discussions elsewhere in Europe, the United States and Asia about how memory functions in societies, particularly in how nations remember and forget. Mr. Nora wrote during a period when French scholars were increasingly interested in the roles of language, symbols and discourse in forging social realities. His approach to history seemed to complement then-current theories like Claude Lévi-Strauss's structuralism and Jacques Derrida's deconstructionism. Mr. Nora's approach also sparked debate and criticism, particularly regarding the potential for 'sites of memory' to oversimplify or sanitize history, obscuring more complex or contentious aspects of the past. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

LeMonde
03-06-2025
- General
- LeMonde
Pierre Nora, historian who shaped intellectual life in France, dies at 93
Saint-Germain-des-Prés, in Paris's Left Bank, was his domain. Living at the corner of Place de Furstenberg, Pierre Nora was a few steps away from the Quai Conti, home to the Académie Française, of which he was a member, and from the headquarters of the prestigious Gallimard publishing house, where he oversaw collections in the social sciences and humanities. From this triangle, the founder of the journal Le Débat was a central figure in shaping intellectual life and debates in France. His elegant silhouette will no longer be seen crisscrossing these streets. Nora died on Monday, June 2, in Paris, at the age of 93, his family told Agence France-Presse. He had become an essential "public historian" whom journalists called upon for analysis of the evolution of national sentiment or the meaning of commemorations and national symbols. His name will remain above all associated with one of the most innovative historiographical undertakings of the past 40 years: Les Lieux de Mémoire, translated as Realms of Memory and Rethinking France, a monumental seven-volume project published between 1984 and 1993. As its director, he brought together 130 historians, including Raoul Girardet, Maurice Agulhon, Antoine Prost and Pascal Ory, notably to decipher the symbols of the French Republic (the tricolor flag, the Republican calendar, La Marseillaise) and its monuments (the Panthéon, town halls, war memorials).