Editing Collective memory (section)

=== History versus collective memory ===
The difference between history and collective memory is best understood when comparing the aims and characteristics of each. A goal of history broadly is to provide a comprehensive, accurate, and unbiased portrayal of past events. This often includes the representation and comparison of multiple perspectives and the integration of these perspectives and details to provide a complete and accurate account. In contrast, collective memory focuses on a single perspective, for instance, the perspective of one social group, nation, or community. Consequently, collective memory represents past events as associated with the values, narratives and biases specific to that group.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Wertsch|first1=James V.|last2=Roediger|first2=Henry L.|date=April 2008|title=Collective memory: conceptual foundations and theoretical approaches|journal=Memory (Hove, England)|volume=16|issue=3|pages=318–326|doi=10.1080/09658210701801434|issn=0965-8211|pmid=18324555|s2cid=205665059}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

Studies have found that people from different nations can have major differences in their recollections of the past. In one study where American and Russian students were instructed to recall significant events from World War II and these lists of events were compared, the majority of events recalled by the American and Russian students were not shared.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J25k7yR_mHAC|title=Voices of Collective Remembering|last=Wertsch|first=James V.|date=2002-07-15|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-00880-8}}</ref> Differences in the events recalled and emotional views towards the Civil War, World War II and the Iraq War have also been found in a study comparing collective memory between generations of Americans.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Roediger|first1=Henry L.|last2=Agarwal|first2=Pooja K.|last3=Butler|first3=Andrew C.|last4=Zaromb|first4=Franklin|date=2014-04-01|title=Collective memories of three wars in United States history in younger and older adults|journal=Memory & Cognition|volume=42|issue=3|pages=383–399|doi=10.3758/s13421-013-0369-7|pmid=24097190|s2cid=15557122|issn=1532-5946}}</ref>