History and Memory

          In class we started to talk about the relationship between history and memory. History can serve as our collective memory, but it also serves as a correction to our collective memory. We often remember things that aren't accurate. The importance of Wesley's Aldersgate experience is an example of this, according to Outler. Similarly, Hatch points to a hole in American religious history related to Methodism: it's too mundane for the intellectual historians and too mainstream for those doing outsider history, and so it's been largely ignored.
         Hatch suggests some reasons a deeper exploration American Methodism would be helpful. Do you see other ways in which it may impact our understanding/memory of: American history generally, the transition from the Revolution period to the Early Republic specifically, our current socio-religous landscape, and/or the history of outsider voices? More generally, what, if any, is the importance of studying the history of the middle/ the mainstream?