The Transformative Capacity of Commemoration
Comparing Mnemonic Activism in Philadelphia, Mississippi
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6304748 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Claire Whitlinger (0000-0001-7342-2050, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 455-474 |
| Publication date | 2019-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Mobilization An International Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1086-671X • E-ISSN: 1938-1514 |
| Publisher | Mobilization Journal (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.17813/1086-671x-24-4-455 |
| OpenAlex | W2998538195 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
Much attention has centered on the causes and composition of commemorations, yet research on commemorations' causal consequences remains relatively unexplored. This study examines the relationship between commemorative events and subsequent mnemonic activism through a comparative historical study of two seemingly similar mnemonic projects with divergent outcomes: the twenty-fifth and fortieth anniversary commemorations in Philadelphia, Mississippi, the city notorious as the site of the 1964 “Mississippi Burning” murders. Drawing insights from the social psychological literature on intergroup contact clarifies how members of the 2004 commemoration task force developed a distinct collective identity across significant social divides through personal storytelling, a development that encouraged local mnemonic activism beyond the commemoration itself. More generally, this research suggests that commemorations both emerge out of and catalyze associated memory movements, and that a commemoration's transformative potential lies in its planning process
Aesthetics · Art · Cognitive psychology · Collective memory · Identity (music · Literature · Media studies · Mnemonic · Narrative · Political science · Politics · Social movement · Sociology · Storytelling · Transformative learning · Gender Studies · Law · Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration · Psychology · Rhetoric and Communication Studies · Social and Intergroup Psychology
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2026 (6) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |