Between 2004 and 2005, Acadians observed two major anniversaries in their history: the 400th anniversary of the birth of Acadie and the 250th anniversary of their deportation at the hands of the British. Attending many of the commemorative activities that marked the anniversaries, Ronald Rudin has documented these events as an "embedded historian." Conducting interviews and collecting the opinions of Acadians, Anglophones, and First Nations, Remembering and Forgetting in Acadie examines the variety of ways in which the past is publicly presented and remembered.
A profound and accessible study of the often-conflicting purposes of public history, Rudin details the contentious cultural, political, and historical issues that were prompted by these anniversaries. Offering an astounding collection of materials, Remembering and Forgetting in Acadie is also accompanied by a website (www.rememberingacadie.concordia.ca) that provides access to films, audio clips, and photographs assembled on Rudin's journey through public memory.