Ronald Rudin

In 2002, two years before the 400th anniversary of the first European colonists’ arrival in Canada, Ronald Rudin began his study of public memory, commemoration, and Acadian history. Over the next several years, Rudin conducted interviews and studied archival material to gain insight into the plans that surrounded previous anniversary celebrations. Rudin also studied the commemorations planned for 2005, the 250th anniversary of the expulsion of the Acadians from Canada. The result of this effort, Remembering and Forgetting in Acadie, presents Rudin’s research and observations concerning Acadia’s past and its presentation to the public.

Rudin divides the book into two sections. The first part documents the history of the public celebrations and commemorations of the Acadians and their role in early Canadian history, while the second examines public memory of one event in Acadian history: the deportation from Canada. After introducing Acadian history, Rudin continues his detailed narrative through a succession of celebrations and commemorations of these early French colonists. For readers interested in the history of public historical events, these chapters contain much useful information. However, the level of detail is such that it is easy to become lost under the weight of the information.

In the second part of the book, Rudin explores the public memory that underlies the deportation of the Acadians. Drawing on the recent incorporation of Acadian and First Nations views into public history described in the first section, he explains the ways that Canadians viewed the deportation, including the differing ideas between and among English-speakers and Acadians. In both groups, perspectives on the deportation ranged from wanting a formal apology from Great Britain to wanting to forget the pain of the past and focus on the future. It is this second section that forms the stronger part of the book, as it provides an ethnographic study of public memory and how memory and perception change with time and the rise of new views. The latter portion also emphasizes Rudin’s overall goal: to record “the various experiences of Acadians, English speakers, and First Nations people as they negotiated the anniversaries of 2004-5” (12). However, Remembering and Forgetting in Acadie does not merely record, rather it provides myriad examples to other public historians of how to respect public memory while planning public historical events, particularly events related to painful episodes from the past.… (mais)