From Pedestal to Ostracism A Quantitative Social Media Analysis and Conceptual Framework on Historical Memory and Pedagogical Implications of Cancel Culture

This paper examines the educational challenges posed by cancel culture phenomena in digital spaces and their impact on historical memory construction and role model presentation. While social media platforms facilitate rapid moral judgments and public condemnation, educational settings require more nuanced approaches to understanding historical and contemporary figures. Considering research on virtual collective consciousness, we explore the dual phenomenon of historical figures’ “cancellation” and posthumous rehabilitation in collective memory, paired with cases of digital ostracism. Building on research on cancel culture’s limitations, the objective of this exploratory study is conducting a quali-quantitative analysis of how this dualism affects history teaching and role model construction in educational contexts, aiming to categorize and better understand cancellation dynamics. The social media context has been explored through (1) a quantitative analysis of social media posts, using sentiment analysis and network analysis to examine reactions to key controversies and (2) developing a conceptual framework of cancellation events grounded in cultural studies, postcolonial theory, and media studies, informed by the results of the digital analysis. The results lead to the identification of several key dimensions shaping cultural discourse around cancellation processes, which, in turn, formed the basis of our pedagogical strategies proposal for developing critical historical consciousness and managing controversial figures in educational settings, particularly in postdigital intercultures.