Performative сommemoratives: Spontaneous shrines and the public memorialization of death

Abstract

Hereby we present the translation of an article by the American anthropologist and folklorist Jack Santino, the most reputable researcher of modern commemoration rituals. The dual nature of the so-called performative commemoratives - places where commemoration takes place along with statements concerning a socially important issue - is demonstrated by the author as exemplified by the many spontaneously created memorials in honor of the tragically deceased.