First-Year Seminar: American Monuments: Memory, Identity, and Ideology

3 units

This seminar examines public monuments in the United States through the lenses of collective memory, identity, and ideology. It surveys an evolving tradition from Americans' early and short-lived reluctance to fund public monuments -- John Quincy Adams famously declared that democracy has no monuments -- up to the recent controversies over Confederate monuments. The course defines monument broadly to encompass a range of commemorative forms, including traditional structures like statues, arches, and obelisks; utilitarian living memorials like parks and libraries; and countermonuments that challenge core premises of the monument, such as its fixed meaning and permanence. Readings and class discussions will explore how these projects have shaped Americans' cultural beliefs and social relations as well as how they failed to achieve consensus or to reconcile the diverse and competing points of view of varied groups and individuals. We will interrogate the impact of monuments on the nation's historically disempowered communities, including those of African Americans, Native Americans, women, immigrants, and the poor. We will also consider more inclusive modern memorials and evaluate strategies for grappling with outmoded monuments in changing times. This course is for first-year, non-transfer students only.