Personal and Collective Memory in a Post-Socialist Context: An Anthropological Analysis of Dan Lungu’s Novel "I Am An Old Communist Hag"

Abstract (English)

Amid global debates on decommunization and the reevaluation of socialist heritage, the interplay between personal and collective memory holds critical significance. Dan Lungu’s novel "I Am An Old Communist Hag" serves as a unique resource for anthropological inquiry into how individuals and communities in post-socialist societies construct, reject, or reinterpret the past. The study aims to uncover mechanisms through which personal experience resists or adapts to dominant historical narratives—a topic underexplored in the anthropology of memory.
The paper seeks to demonstrate how literary texts can function as tools for anthropological research on memory in societies undergoing ideological transformation. Key objectives include:
1. Analyzing the conflict between the protagonist’s personal nostalgia and the collective trauma embedded in public condemnation of socialism.
2. Investigating the role of “memory artifacts” (daily practices, rituals, material objects) in preserving alternative historical narratives.
3. Addressing ethical dilemmas in memory studies: balancing critique of oppressive systems with empathy for individual life stories.

The study employs methods from the anthropology of memory and cultural analysis, interpreting the novel as an ethnographic source that reflects:
- Narrative strategies of memory construction (Halbwachs);
- The concept of “multivocal memory” (Assmann), where personal and collective memory intersect;
- Theories of post-socialist nostalgia (Boym), explaining emotional attachments to lost social orders.

The study contributes to the anthropology of memory by proposing an interdisciplinary methodology (literature + social sciences). Its practical value lies in understanding mechanisms of cultural transmission in regions where the past remains ideologically contested (Eastern Europe, post-Soviet states).