The memorialisation of ‘excluded’ groups in Washington D.C

Summary

Growing multiculturalism in many cities has resulted in rising concerns over the shared historical narratives of their inhabitants; particularly in relation to past conflicts. Increasingly groups have spoken out against perceived exclusion from dominant conflict narratives. This paper seeks to understand the ways in which groups exert their claim on past conflicts through the urban environment, specifically through processes of war memorialisation. Examples in Washington D.C. comprise both new monuments including the African American Civil War Memorial and the appropriation of existing memorials such as the Native American Veterans Memorial Initiative. This research seeks to understand these memorial processes within the wider discourse of changing relationships with the past; in particular the growing demands for collective apologies and for signs of a past that has been suppressed. Building on wider archaeological themes relating to inclusion it seeks to understand the construction and use of these memorials by varied interest groups.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Bring the Boys Back Home: War, Conflict, and Commemoration   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2013

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 408