Cognitive Ecologies and the History of Remembering: Religion, Education and Memory in Early Modern England

The spread of EC continues apace ....

This book presents a new approach to memory studies through a cognitive cultural history of religion in early modern England. Offering an ecological approach to the relationship of memory and culture, the authors argue that a ‘distributed’ and ‘extended’ approach can bridge the gap between individual and social models of memory. The work of memory cannot be located in individuals, objects, or social systems alone, but spreads across the entire system. The model retains its historical purchase and takes account of the vital importance of attending to human cognitive mechanisms. The concept of “cognitive ecology” offers a lens through which to view this operation of cognitive mechanisms, objects and social systems in past societies and has the potential to take cultural history in a new direction.