Struggling with Anti/Fascism

The rise of rightwing populism, authoritarianism and (neo)fascism in the early 21st century has come to place focus on the relations between history-writing and aesthetic interventions. This anthology ask if there is something as an emerging antifascist memory culture? It looks at the ways in which authoritarian forms of revisionism, nationalism and suppression of memory are met and countered through aesthetic, critical and environmental responses. The volume brings together scholars of cultural history, memory and cultural theory in a critical reflection of the recent authoritarian turn in European politics. Specifically, the contributors look at how monuments, art works and other forms of aesthetic expression commemorate historic anti-fascist movements. By illuminating how the arts are themselves intervening into the aesthetic, material, historical and environmental discourses that condition memory culture, it argues that art and memory are, in fact, more interdependent than is often acknowledged. . Whilst taking empirical material and examples into account, the volume foregrounds theoretically informed research into the ideologically motivated "mnemonic" and "memory wars" unfolding today. It is concerned with critical examples of culturally produced memories of anti-fascist, but also widens the scope to include environmental perspectives.