The Politics of Memory-Making

Instructors:  Rachel Kirby and Hannah Waits
Meeting time: Thursday, 12:00-2:45 pm
Canvas site

What is the relationship between history and memory in the United States? This course explores how the process of memory-making shapes present understandings of the past, with particular attention to disputes over the power to define “legitimate” memories. We will examine how ideas, institutions, and individuals have authorized memory-making, how practices of memory-making have transformed across time and place, and who has been represented in and excluded from various processes of memory-making. We will cover topics like archival construction, museum collection, disciplinary boundaries, fiction/nonfiction borders, the built environment, and tourism. Engaging with a wide range of sources including historical documents, artwork, fiction, photography, film, and poetry, we will take an interdisciplinary approach to practicing research methods in the humanities. We will historicize cultural productions and culturally analyze historical moments to build scholarly conversations across disciplines and genres. Students will develop their own research and writing skills and methods, culminating in an independent original research project.

Artwork by Jonathan Green, Dave the Potter, 1998. Courtesy of the artist.