National Council on Public History

PROPOSAL TYPE

Structured Conversation

SEEKING

• Seeking General Feedback and Interest
• Seeking Additional Presenters

RELATED TOPICS

• Memory
• Oral History
• Monuments and Memorials

ABSTRACT

This structured conversation will address the role of monuments in interpreting and using the memory of large-scale mass atrocity crimes through short case studies. States often have a vested interest in downplaying or even silencing the memory of mass atrocity such as the Armenian and Bangladesh genocides. This gives urgency to the need to recall and publicly memorialize these crimes—in some cases before the living memory vanishes. Much of the American discussion of memorialization has been about removal. This conversation though looks at how memorialization has been a positive force in combatting mass atrocity violence and how the work of public historians had helped the cause of keeping the public memory of some of humanity’s worst acts.

DESCRIPTION

My own work focuses on how the 1971 Bangladesh Genocide is recalled and claimed through memorialization. Monuments and memorials have been frequent topics of discussion in the United States, but coming from a small South Asian country—Bangladesh—I have experienced that in my country, this conversation is largely absent, even though there are numerous local memorials and monuments commemorating the 1971 Bangladesh Genocide. In Bangladesh, monuments and memorials are not mere sites of remembrance—rather they provide strong support for claims by victim groups as the perpetrator country Pakistan still denies the genocide. In such cases, monuments and memorials lead to commemoration and acknowledgement of the violence against the victim groups—even in many cases justice as well.

The 1971 Bangladesh genocide has been titled as the “forgotten genocide” due to the infrequent discussion on the topic and because of the silence and denial from the perpetrator country—Pakistan. The witness generation of the genocide took initiatives to preserve the memory of the events through collecting oral history of the survivors and the victims and by establishing monuments and memorials. I plan to discuss one such significant local memorial on a killing site that represents the intensity of the genocide, and the silence that followed—which has been recently broken by the call for justice by the survivors and victim family members. In this structured conversation I plan to address the pressing issues such as—what are the driving forces behind establishing a local monument by a victim group of a mass atrocity crime? How does a monument function in the claims of a mass atrocity crime? And how does a small/local monument narrate the broader/collective memory of a mass atrocity crime? I am looking for general feedback on my topic and additional presenters who can engage in the topic related to mass violence against targeted group (such as the native Americans, or broadly—the Holocaust) through short case studies.

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: Ummul Muhseneen, University of South Florida, [email protected] 

ALL FEEDBACK AND OFFERS OF ASSISTANCE SHOULD BE SUBMITTED BY JULY 7, 2023. If you have general ideas or feedback to share, please feel free to use the comments feature below.

Discussion