‘The Long Arc of a Nation’ by Derek Robey

“The Long Arc of a Nation: Historical Narratives and Future Projections of Racism and Race in the United States and Canada,” presented by Derek Robey, postdoctoral researcher for the Qualitative Data Repository.

The construction of collective memory has served as a powerful nation-building tool for centuries. In recent years, previously sacred historical figures and national myths have been called into question and outright rejected by many in the United States and Canada. Derek's research explores this moment of "historical reckoning" through a content analysis of more than 200 articles in newspapers or magazines and 173 in-depth interviews with residents of four metro areas in the two countries: Boston, Minneapolis, Toronto and Vancouver.

In this presentation, he will address two primary research questions:

(1) How do residents understand the symbolic and material stakes of collective memory contestation?

(2) What enables some white residents to endorse a new collective memory schema that would ostensibly undermine their social privilege?