Collective Memory as Currency

Chapter Five De-commemoration Practices

In this chapter, I explore the concept of de-commemoration in the context of collective memory and social protest. I delve into how societal tensions, such as racism, colonialism, and misogyny, intersect with social protest, collective memory, and material commemoration. Specifically I address how de-commemoration, typically through acts like toppling statues and destroying monuments, serves as a form of performative social protest; I examine how societal symbols, once popular and materially commemorated, become targets of contemporary reckoning with the past. De-commemoration is shown to be not merely about distancing from the past but also an active form of performative activism that propels society ...