ABSTRACT
Reenacting the past is a widespread human activity that takes diverse forms and serves a variety of purposes. When people think of reenactment today, many consider it an eccentric hobby that involves dressing up in period clothes and playing out a reconstruction of historical events—a battle, voyage, or moment of political crisis. It is often associated with escapist fantasy, nostalgia, and an acute interest in the minutiae of material culture in the olden days. To some it seems to be a peculiarly modern or even postmodern practice, reflecting a sense of contemporary alienation and longing for lost community. While forms of historical reenactment have proliferated in recent decades and reflect aspects of popular culture in many places in the world, reenactment is by no means a recent invention.
