Prosthetic Memory: The Transformation of American Remembrance in the Age of Mass Culture »

Alison Landsberg is assistant professor of American cultural history at George Mason University. She lives in Arlington, Virginia.

Prosthetic Memory argues that mass cultural forms such as cinema and television in fact contain the still-unrealized potential for a progressive politics based on empathy for the historical experiences of others. The technologies of mass culture make it possible for anyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender, to share collective memories -- to assimilate as deeply felt personal experiences historical events through which they themselves did not live.