3.0

credits

Average Course Rating

Do we have a duty to remember certain historic events and to forget others? Societies have long built monuments to memorialize significant events and people --- and iconoclasts and revolutionaries have famously and infamously torn them down. Public monuments or “lieux de mémoire” are powerful social sites whose protection, interpretation, and contestation are central to cultural heritage management and affected memory communities. This course investigates the theoretical relationship between public monuments and collective memory. How do we decide which memories—and monuments--to retain and which to let go? Why do some memories gain mythic status and others recede from view? How do societies cope with memories of traumatic experiences? What role has digital technology played in reshaping collective memory and memorializing practices? Drawing upon canonical texts in critical heritage and memory studies, students will consider what is officially included and excluded from our memory canon and explore case studies of how public monuments come to embody collective memories. The class will focus on these reflections through an ethical lens and prepare students to approach these sites of memories as informed and self-reflexive professionals.