Topic for NORAM4520 Fall 2012.
Inventing Usable Histories
We will look at how collective memory functions as a cultural invention to negotiate competing ideas of national and group identity. In particular, we will examine how views of historical horrors are renegotiated to invent cultural definitions of history with which contemporary citizens can find pride. We will look at public history in the form of monuments and physical memorials, as well as debates over how to teach history in the United States. Some examples are: how the reparations movement competes with other historical redefinitions of the south and of slavery, arguments about how to memorialize the wars of the 20th century, and how such events as the Trail of Tears are dealt with and reinterpreted in the creating of national mythology surrounding the westward movement, and debates over how to memorialize the events of 9-11. There will be an element of comparison with how women’s history has been memorialized in the United States and Norway. Primary sources to be used are movies, public history sites and museums as shown online, newspaper accounts and speeches. Some scholarship can also be viewed as a primary source.