Social Marking in Memory Entrepreneurship: The Battle Over Zapata’s Legacy

Tyler S. Schafer; David R. Dickens

doi:10.18778/1733-8077.12.2.06

Authors

Tyler S. Schafer University of Nevada, Las Vegas, U.S.A.
David R. Dickens University of Nevada, Las Vegas, U.S.A.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.12.2.06

Keywords:

Social Marking, Memory Entrepreneurship, Naturalization Process, Collective Memory, Emiliano Zapata

Abstract

Disputes over historical representations often revolve around competing narratives about the past, but the processes through which these narratives are constructed are often neglected. In this paper, we extend the concept of collective memory using Brekhus’ notion of social marking to investigate the creation and maintenance of collective representations of the Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata. We analyze the claims made in speeches and communiqués produced by two opposing groups—the Mexican government and the Zapatista movement—in a decades-long dispute over land and indigenous rights. Moreover, we argue that processes of social marking can further explain the selective nature of collective memory, that is, how certain parts of the past are remembered and emphasized while others are de-emphasized and forgotten. Also, in our analysis of social marking, we identify a naturalization process that is utilized by actors in mnemonic battles to recast their constructed representations of the past as natural, pure, and true. We close with a discussion of how understanding the naturalization process as outlined here can shed light on current political and historical disputes.

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Author Biographies

Tyler S. Schafer, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, U.S.A.

Tyler S. Schafer is a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (U.S.A.). His principal areas of expertise include cultural sociology, space and place, community formation, and urban sustainability. His dissertation research explores how collective actors at a Las Vegas community garden appropriate the broad cultural trend of community gardening in a local context known for its harsh natural and cultural environments.

David R. Dickens, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, U.S.A.

David R. Dickens is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (U.S.A.). His principal areas of expertise include critical and interpretive social theory, media culture, and qualitative research methods. His current research projects include a study of commodification in the electronic dance music industry (with Christopher Conner) and one of representations of Italian culture in Las Vegas (with Marta Soligo).

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