Forced Oblivion: Cancel Culture and Historical Identity

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15826/csp.2025.9.3.349

Abstract

This article examines cancel culture as a form of enforced forgetting that shapes the social and historical identity of large communities. Focusing on cases in Russia, the analysis explores instances where historical events or periods have been deliberately rejected. As a tool of memory politics, cancel culture operates through public denunciations of the past, serving as a mechanism for political actors to legitimize themselves and construct identity. The article also explores ways of mitigating the negative effects of this culture. The first section discusses cancel culture in relation to the erasure of specific historical periods or events, arguing that it is a distinct form of the politics of forgetting that extends beyond it, involving violations of historicism, presentism, and universalism. While claiming to restore historical justice and inclusivity, cancel culture ultimately opposes meritocracy by undermining individual achievements. The second section examines strategies to counteract cancel culture, highlighting the fact that since decontextualization is central to its operation, the primary corrective mechanism should be recontextualization, which involves restoring historical context through a comprehensive narrative and an appropriate descriptive framework. Additionally, the discussion shifts from an ethical approach to memory politics toward an instrumental one. Finally, the article advocates for an agonistic memory framework that acknowledges the multi-actor nature of political and social processes.

Author Biographies

Oksana V. Golovashina, Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg

Oksana V. Golovashina is Doctor of Philosophy, Leading Research Fellow, Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg, Russia. Her main research interests are social theory, social epistemology, cultural memory.

Roman Yu. Batishchev, Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg; Lipetsk State Technical University, Lipetsk

Roman Yu. Batishchev is a Senior Researcher at the Ural Federal University, and Associate Professor at the Department of History and Theory of State and Law, Lipetsk State Technical University. In 2017, he graduated from the Faculty of Political Science of Lomonosov Moscow State University. In 2019, she completed his Master's degree at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. In 2019–2022, he completed postgraduate studies at the Faculty of Political Science of Lomonosov Moscow State University. In 2023, he defended his Cand. Sci. thesis (Political Science). Since 2024, he has been an associate professor at the Department of History and Theory of State and Law at Lipetsk State Technical University. Research interests: memory studies, politics of memory, war commemorations.

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Published
2025-10-10
How to Cite
Golovashina, O., & Batishchev, R. (2025). Forced Oblivion: Cancel Culture and Historical Identity. Changing Societies & Personalities, 9(3), 706-721. doi:10.15826/csp.2025.9.3.349
Citation Formats
Issue
Vol. 9, No. 3 (2025)
Section
Articles