Decentring commemorations: literary, cultural, historical and political celebrations across and beyond the British Isles

ABSTRACT In this introduction to the issue Decentring Commemorations: Literary, Cultural, Historical and Political Celebrations across and beyond the British Isles, the authors give an overview of recent developments in the forms taken by official – sometimes politically motivated – commemorations and of the appearance of new – often more challenging and subversive – types of commemorations engaged in by social and cultural groups which had previously been marginalised or invisible. Drawing from fundamental academic work in the field of memory studies, and especially that of cultural memory, Sabiron and Tranmer wish to address a vast and yet under-reported issue in this sphere of study by adopting an innovative stand and taking a fundamentally transnational and transcultural approach to acts of commemorating.