Commemorative Events emphasise remembering. They are held on the anniversaries of significant past events, either annually or after significant time periods. Commemorative events provide fascinating insight into how societies see themselves, their heritage and their identity. These events however carry high propensity for controversy as memory and identity are highly subjective and other stakeholders hold different views of what should be commemorated and why.
This is the first book to provide an in - depth critical examination of commemorative events, particularly what they mean to societies and how they are used by governments as well as impacts on other stakeholders. The book fully explores these issues by reviewing all the major types of commemorative events including, nationhood or independence, wars, battles, famous people and cultural milestones from varying geographical regions and stakeholder perspectives. By doing so the book furthers understanding of these types of events in society as well as furthering knowledge of social and political uses and impacts of events.
This thought provoking volume will be valuable reading for students, researchers and academics interested in events.
1. Understanding Commemorative Events 2. Imagining National Identities 3. Dark, Disturbing and Difficult Commemorative Events 4. The Tourism Paradox 5. It Happened at the World’s Fair 6. The Reenactors’ World 7. A Day at Battle 8. Cultural Commemorations 9. Commercial Commemorations 10. The Legacy of Commemorative Events 11. Why We Need Commemorative Events