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Monuments and memorials traditionally serve as placeholders of memory, inviting viewers to remember and reflect. They aim to speak both to their own moment and to posterity, keeping the past present for the future. Yet what they say—and don’t say—is highly contested. Recent controversies in Baltimore, across the US, and throughout the world have dramatized their problematic power and volatility and demand our thoughtful attention. Drawing on examples from antiquity to the present, this interdisciplinary First-Year Seminar explores monuments and memorials as political, cultural, social, and aesthetic expressions, and examines the ways they operate within and beyond the historical moment in which they were created. Current debates will be considered along with the ancient Roman practice of damnatio memoriae; iconoclasm; and alternative or counter-monuments that intentionally subvert the traditional commemorative lexicon. Particular attention will be given to monuments in Baltimore, with on-site classes whenever possible.