Description:
In the wake of recent protests against police violence and racism, calls to dismantle problematic memorials have reverberated around the globe. This is not a new phenomenon, however, nor is it limited to the Anglo-Saxon world. De-Commemoration focuses on the concept of de-commemoration as it relates to remembrance.
Brief description:
Sarah Gensburger is Professor of sociology and political science at the French National Centre for Scientific Research and Sciences Po-Paris and President of the international Memory Studies Association since 2021. She is the author of Beyond Memory: Can We Really Learn from the Past? (with Sandrine Lefranc, Palgrave, 2020), and Memory on my Doorstep: Chronicles of the Bataclan Neighborhood, Paris, 2015-2016 (Leuven University Press, 2019) as well as co-editor of Administrations of Memory (with Sara Dybris McQuaid(Springer, 2022).
Review Quotes:
"This impressive collection of essays addresses a very timely issue from a badly-needed comparative perspective. Set to become a benchmark, it covers a huge range of examples from across the world while creating common ground between them. The result is a wealth of insights into the role of public monuments in working through the toxic legacies of colonialism and dictatorship. Highly recommended." - Ann Rigney, Utrecht University
"De-Commemoration is an inspirational collection of diverse approaches, practices, methods, and perspectives of de-commemoration of forgoing heroes and activities, set in various cultural and geographical contexts. This is an exceedingly rare and truly global contribution." - Mariusz Czepczyński, University of Gdańsk