James Wertsch

James Wertsch


Director Emeritus of the McDonnell International Scholars Academy
Professor of Sociocultural Anthropology
Professor of Global Studies
David R. Francis Distinguished Professor
PhD, University of Chicago
research interests:
  • Psychological Anthropology
  • National Narratives and Memory
  • Former Soviet Union

contact info:

mailing address:

  • Washington University
    CB 1173
    One Brookings Drive
    St. Louis, MO 63130-4899

Wertsch is the director emeritus of the McDonnell International Scholars Academy. A professor of sociocultural anthropology, Wertsch’s topics of study are national narratives and memory, collective memory and identity, especially in Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union, as well as in the United States.

He has particular interests in how these issues play out in Russia, the South Caucasus, and Estonia, but his research is also motivated by a broader set of concerns about the nature of collective memory in general. In previous writings he has drawn on the ideas of L.S. Vygotsky, M.M. Bakhtin, and others in order to examine problems of language and thought from a sociocultural perspective.

Professor Wetsch is currently working on several projects in the South Caucasus, especially the Republic of Georgia. This includes collaborating with colleagues on efforts to understand the emergence of civil society, and democracy in this region. Of particular interest for him is how schools and other institutions are harnessed to create and maintain official collective memory.

How Nations Remember: A Narrative Approach

How Nations Remember: A Narrative Approach