The Performance of Commemoration
Professor of Political Science
Professor Mneesha Gellman explores the dynamics of public commemoration, examining how history is shaped and contested through cultural memory, public art, and civic rituals.
Who gets remembered, who gets left out, and who gets to decide?
ArtsEmerson continues its exploration of America 250 and the complicated legacies of revolution, resilience, and resistance, bringing together perspectives from cultural memory, public art, and civic and cultural leadership to examine how history takes shape in public life. From the stories we preserve and teach, to the art and monuments we encounter in shared spaces, to the civic rituals and institutions that shape a city’s identity, the choices we make about how we commemorate the past influence how history is understood and carried forward.