Spazio pubblico e memorie nelle pratiche della Public History

Abstract

The paper first discusses the hermeneutics of Public History (PH) as a discipline that responds to the needs of the present, describing its participatory methods and interaction with society and its various communities. It then considers the relationship of PH to memory and the creation of collective identities, as opposed to the political use of history and memory. It also examines examples of participatory PH projects, some of which are linked to the complex construction of collective memory in Italy on the 150th anniversary of unification and in Europe after 1989. Finally, it will be shown how international PH favors the creation of new memorial archives that respond to the immediate needs of communities (rapid response archives) after traumatic events