National Council on Public History

PROPOSAL TYPE

Traditional Panel

SEEKING

• Seeking General Feedback and Interest
• Seeking Additional Presenters

RELATED TOPICS

• Advocacy
• Memory
• Public Engagement

ABSTRACT

Two guardians watch over the front lawn of the Barnstable, MA Superior Courthouse, one on the right side and one on the left. They are bronze statues, one of Mercy Otis Warren and the other of James Otis, both Barnstable natives. The story of how Warren’s likeness came to inhabit the courthouse lawn is a fascinating case study of how the gendered politics of commemoration can play out in local communities. I will demonstrate how these gendered politics of commemoration were at play before, during, and after the Warren statue’s installation. However, this story also illustrates the dynamics of public awareness raising for a commemorative campaign, and how buy-in from a large number of small donors builds community consensus (solidarity).

DESCRIPTION

I am seeking to collaborate with other presenters for a panel dealing with any of several relevant topics:

• memory and commemoration of historical women, especially within the masculinized national narrative (or other issues related to gender and commemoration)
• public campaigns to erect monuments and memorials, ensuing conflicts among those who involve themselves, and the “awareness-raising” that goes hand-in-hand with fundraising efforts
• issues of grassroots community buy-in and consensus when it comes to commemoration, monuments, and memorials

  My own paper presentation is based on my MA thesis, which deals with the above topics as I use the Warren statue as a case study. I believe additional collaborators could round out a strong panel that would generate productive discussion.

The “gender and commemoration” topic is particularly timely, given the recent release (May 2024) of Breaking the Bronze Ceiling: Women, Memory, and Public Space, which is itself a collaboration among scholars exploring gender and commemoration through individual case studies. This work’s contributors include eminent scholars of public history and commemoration like Kirk Savage, Sierra Rooney, Dell Upton, and Erika Doss, so the conversation I wish to generate is tied to other extremely current research in the field.

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: Sara White, [email protected]

ALL FEEDBACK AND OFFERS OF ASSISTANCE SHOULD BE SUBMITTED BY JULY 10, 2024. If you have general ideas or feedback to share, please feel free to use the comments feature below.

Discussion