Donald Maxwell, Indiana State University
PROPOSAL TYPE
Traditional Panel
Seeking
- Seeking Additional Presenters
- Seeking General Feedback and Interest
RELATED TOPICS
- Memory
- Place
- Public engagement
ABSTRACT
Twenty-one years into the 21st century, what is the status of monuments erected in the 20th century? Historical monuments draw attention to people and moments in time for years after they are installed, yet they are constructed at one point in time and often reflect an understanding and culture rooted in that moment.
How do new interpretations of history and changes in culture and society in the 21st century affect the reception, placement, and interpretation of monuments? How relevant is their status as works of art?
DESCRIPTION
I plan a paper on the placement of monuments to Americans outside the United States. I will consider how and why they were put in those places and how (and whether) they have persisted over time. Under consideration is the role the United States and those Americans played overseas and how that role has been reinterpreted over time.
I am seeking two or three additional panelists, including, but not limited to, public historians, academic historians, museum personnel, parks personnel, public officials, art historians, artists, and historic preservationists to discuss individual monuments or types of monuments. What has been the disposition of monuments in your purview? What precipitated changes in the perception of those monuments?
Further questions for consideration for papers for this panel could come from the annual meeting call for proposals: reimagining narratives and working across borders to amplify them, repairing of past wrongs, examining crossroads of public history and public protest, working with people in communities experiencing change, and considering underrepresented and previously unarticulated historical issues and themes.
If you have a direct offer of assistance, sensitive criticism, or wish to pass along someone’s contact information confidentially, please get in contact directly: Donald Maxwell, Indiana State University, [email protected]
ALL FEEDBACK AND OFFERS OF ASSISTANCE SHOULD BE SUBMITTED BY JULY 1, 2021. If you have general ideas or feedback to share, please feel free to use the comments feature below.
Cynthia Prescott just wrote a great book on monuments to “Pioneer Mothers,” predominantly (but not exclusively) in the American West. She studies change over time, public reception, and their modern preservation. She might be an interesting addition to your panel.
I would look into Karen Cox’s latest book, No Common Ground: Confederate Monuments and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice. I also would consider expanding the parameters of this discussion to include more works and voices from the arts more generally, including Caroline Randall Williams’s powerful piece in the New York Times, “My Body Is a Confederate Monument.”
Hi David,
This is always an important topic. Some things to keep in mind: how would this proposal be different from the other active discussions about monuments? What do you want the audience to get out of this discussion? How does public history specifically contribute to/ help interpret, understand, monuments? I’m very curious about the overseas nature of the monuments–the transhistorical nature of monument culture could be really interesting!
This promises to be a great paper and panel. I think contextualizing American monuments *outside* of the United States will offer a valuable intervention. I would have loved to hear a bit about which specific statues you intend to review in your presentation. You may already be considering this, but I thought I would suggest that you explore *popular responses* to these statues. For example, have any of these statues been vandalized? In the French Caribbean, statues erected by the French government to celebrate the white French abolitionist Victor Schoelcher were vandalized because it was seen as an attempt at erasure of the contribution of the enslaved to the abolition and emancipation movement. Do you know of events that would parallel the situation in your study? If so, what might this reveal about changing ideas towards the US or changing ideas about American imperialism?
Donald, Taylor Chadwick Noakes has posted a proposal idea that could fit with this. Perhaps the two of you could link up for a panel (though there is certainly so much to discuss for multiple panels on these topics!). I also definitely recommend Cindy Prescott – you might want to contact her about her interest in being a chair for this panel, though the NCPH is not a regular conference for her.
Thanks, Elyssa! Taylor and I have been in touch and I’m trying to re-connect with him (& a couple of others who have expressed interest) about a formally proposing a panel. Don
I would also look at Kevin Levin’s work Searching for Black Confederates and Adam Domby’s False Cause if you go the Civil War route. Outside of the US, the “Rhodes Must Fall” movement is also interesting. I think there’s a larger reckoning with the meaning of white settler colonialism in all of its forms and we are seeing that contested in monuments.