Epistemic Authority in the Micro-details of Pedagogical Memory Discourse

In this chapter, I go even more micromicro than in Chapter 5 . On the basis of a micro-discourse analysis of a focus groupfocus group in which we discuss fascist memory in BolzanoBolzano (Italy), I argue that when narrating memory and moralitymorality, my participants’ core business is descriptiondescription and explanation of past and present, not prescriptionprescription of moral valuesvalues. When they narrate cultural memorycultural memory narratives in the focus group, they take a pedagogicalpedagogical stance towards me and talk about a past that I supposedly don’t know. On a theoretical level, I present two main takeaways from this in-depth micro-analysis. In the micro-details of interactioninteraction, I demonstrate that epistemicepistemic stances are key to these narrative performances of cultural memory. Secondly, I have established that this high discursive investment in epistemics contributes to both moral and evaluative positions that allow for self-identification with social groups and larger group identities.