Celebration, Commemoration, and the Use of Public Space

Recording of the 11/10/2022 Webinar
Join Cathy Stanton, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Anthropology at Tufts University, and Linda Coombs, member of the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe, historian and museum consultant, as they discuss the use of public space for the purposes of celebration and commemoration. Such events are often strongly connected to the location in which they happen, with town commons being a favorite setting. Have these public spaces historically been open for everyone to utilize? Has this changed today? This program will examine these questions within the context of particular examples of public events in the past and today. By comparing the past and present, we can gain a sense of the evolution of land use by the public and how a landscape itself can become an expression of culture.