Cultural movements and collective memory : Christopher Columbus and the rewriting of the national origin myth / Timothy Kubal.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kubal, Timothy.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Collective memory--United States.

Collective memory.

Group identity--United States.

Group identity.

United States.

Columbus, Christopher.

America--Discovery and exploration--Spanish.

America.

Discoveries in geography.

Physical Description:

xv, 261 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

Summary:

Christopher Columbus is a historical figure and a symbol of the U.S. national origin myth. This myth has served many needs and interests. In the late eighteenth century, Columbus commemorations began, and have continued for centuries as a patriotic celebration used to rally the public during wartimes, develop identity boundaries, praise patriotic obedience, and celebrate change as progress. This state sponsored holiday was not simply a day to meet the interests of those in power, but became an important time for mobilization among relatively powerless groups.

Why can some powerless groups rewrite the past? Professor Kubal, a specialist in social movements and culture, uses political process theory to examine the four most successful cultural movements that have mobilized around Columbus. He examines three centuries of commemoration and argues that patriotic, religious, ethnic, and anti-colonial movements were most successful at rewriting the national origin myth because they took advantage of political opportunities, efficiently mobilized resources, and effectively framed their communication. The book provides a clear application of the political process model and tells an interesting, sometimes humorous story of how the powerless public can mobilize to rewrite the past.

Contents:

Rediscovering

Patriotic

Religious

Ethnic : American indian

Ethnic : Hispanic american

Ethnic : Italian American

Anticolonial

Remembering and forgetting.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [237]-251) and index.

ISBN:

1403975779

9781403975775

OCLC:

187417721

Online:

Contributor biographical information

Publisher description