| Sumario: | The field of memory studies has traditionally been framed through a linear, wave-based model that assumes theoretical and methodological substitution over time. However, this essay challenges the limitations of this zero-sum logic, particularly regarding the third and fourth waves of contemporary memory studies. Using The Politics and Rhetoric of Collective Remembering (Milani, T., & Richardson, J. E. (Eds.). [2024]. The politics and rhetoric of collective remembering. Routledge) and Critical Memory Studies: New Approaches (Kaplan, B. A. [2023]. Critical memory studies: New approaches. Bloomsbury) as focal points, this review highlights the complementary rather than substitutive nature of these approaches. The third wave, characterized by critical rhetorical analysis, interrogates the construction and function of collective memory within power structures, while the fourth wave foregrounds grassroots, activist, and bottom-up memory practices as tools of resistance. By juxtaposing these anthologies, this essay argues for an integrated, multidirectional conception of the field – one that acknowledges the coexistent fronts of memory studies and the crucial role of rhetorical analysis in advancing both waves. Rather than adhering to rigid paradigms of disciplinary progression, this essay advocates for a more expansive and interdisciplinary understanding of memory studies, emphasizing its evolving intersections with rhetoric and activism.
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