The Role of Interpretative Communities in Remembering and Learning

Students' memories and learning strategies are situated in their social relationships, political orientations, cultural meanings, worldviews, and historical experiences. This study uses qualitative research methods to investigate how Canadian students remember and learn about the War on Terror. It deals with the narratives of ninety-nine students studying in an urban university of Ontario. I find that apart from textual resources, remembering and learning involve a collectivity of significant "others" or what I call interpretative communities. These communities play an influential role in the consumption and negotiation of knowledge inside and outside the classrooms thus an understanding of their role may help teachers to enhance their instructional strategies. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)