Klicktipp: Remembering Activism: The Cultural Memory of Protest in Europe (Weblog)

„Remembering Activism: The Cultural Memory of Protest in Europe“ (ERC research project, 2019-2024) (Web)

Mass demonstrations make the headlines. But how are they remembered when they are no longer news? And how does the cultural memory of earlier movements play into later ones? In the project, participants are focusing on how the memory of civil resistance has been realised in documentary films, memoirs, commemorative events, archival projects and the visual and literary arts. They believe that an insight into the role of cultural memory is necessary for a comprehensive understanding of civil resistance in today’s world. As they are also convinced of the importance of taking a long-term view, the sub-projects are not only looking at recent developments, they also reach back to the 19th century.
The aim of the project is to provide a comprehensive account of the remembering and forgetting of civil resistance in Europe, which is also relevant to our understanding of movements in other countries. The participants examine continuities and changes in the way protest has been represented in different media regimes; they critically analyse the role of texts, images and commemorative practices in communicating the memory of protest to later generations. And they considere how this memory feeds back into later movements.

Weblog (Web)
One component of the project is a weblog. This articles were published here so far:

  • África López Zabalegui: From the Archive to the Museum: 15M Exhibited
  • Duygu Erbil & Clara Vlessing: The Contentious Subject Speaks
  • Duygu Erbil: Micro-celebrity Practices in the Commemoration of Deniz Gezmiş
  • Daniele Salerno: The Cross-pollination of Memories between Black and LGBT+ Activism
  • Anna Stibbe: Using Memory: The anti-colonial periodical Indonesia Merdeka (1923-1933)
  • Ann Rigney: Colour: Remembrance as Resistance
  • Sophie van den Elzen: International ‘Workers’ Day?
  • Clara Vlessing: International Women’s Day: Why is it on 8 March?
  • Daniele Salerno: My Grandmother the Militant: Activism as a Family Story
  • Daniele Salerno: Trans Memory Activism and Visibility: Archivo de la Memoria Trans Argentina
  • Marit van de Warenburg: Remixing the Past: The Soundtrack to Black Lives Matter
  • David Beorlegui Zarranz: Memory Activism and Transitional Justice in Spain
  • Emilia Salvanou: Memory in Antagonistic Politics: Minutes from an “Antifascist September” in Greece
  • Tashina Blom: ‘My Body My Choice’: Why the Anti-Lockdown Protesters are Appropriating Memory
  • Duygu Erbil: Activism Remembered Through the Courtroom
  • Ann Rigney: Why Monuments Matter (And When They Don’t)
  • Thomas Smits: Delacroix in Hong Kong: Activism, Memory and Visual Representation
  • Sophie van den Elzen: ActivistTM: Conspicuous Consumption and Social Change
  • Ann Rigney: Recursive Waves

ReAct has been made possible by an ERC Advanced Grant (2019-2024) awarded to Ann Rigney, Utrecht University, under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 788572).