Overview

This book analyses the nature as well as the political and philosophical implications of the contemporary international memorial-building boom. Developing a distinctive theoretical and methodological approach, it explores the complex interplay between neoliberalism, postmodernism and nationalism in some of the most iconic national memorials and memorial-museums to have emerged in the US and Germany over the last 35 years. Situating and analysing the current renaissance in memorialisation in relation to the contemporary ideological conjuncture, the book interrogates the meaning and purpose of contemporary memorial forms and practices. In so doing it goes against the grain of the dominant literature on memorialisation, challenging the widely accepted premises which underpin this consensus. Commonly praised for their non-ideological and non-nationalistic stance, ambiguity and affective power, the book points rather to their role in reaffirming the nation and the neoliberal status quo.

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9781786612991

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Nicola Clewer adds complexity and a needed investigation into large-scale public memorialization that appears to provide insight into the past, but instead, supports contemporary nationalism. Her case studies offer insights into the economics of memorials in urban locations and into the problematic nature of creating sublime spaces for public memory sites. This book provides readers with a necessary set of concerns that should be addressed when visiting any memorial.--Teresa Bergman, Chair of the Communication Department and Professor of Communication, University of the Pacific Nicola Clewer's work examining urban postmodern monument culture is indispensable. By providing a theoretical framework for the concept of the sublime as applied through comparative analysis, Clewer shows how memorials in the neoliberal state from the 1980s onward reify traditional uses of the past to fulfill contemporary ideological and political needs.--Laura A. Macaluso, editor of Monument Culture: International Perspectives on the Future of Monuments in a Changing World

Nicola Clewer adds complexity and a needed investigation into large-scale public memorialization that appears to provide insight into the past, but instead, supports contemporary nationalism. Her case studies offer insights into the economics of memorials in urban locations and into the problematic nature of creating sublime spaces for public memory sites. This book provides readers with a necessary set of concerns that should be addressed when visiting any memorial. --Teresa Bergman, Chair of the Communication Department and Professor of Communication, University of the Pacific Nicola Clewer's work examining urban postmodern monument culture is indispensable. By providing a theoretical framework for the concept of the sublime as applied through comparative analysis, Clewer shows how memorials in the neoliberal state from the 1980s onward reify traditional uses of the past to fulfill contemporary ideological and political needs. --Laura A. Macaluso, editor of Monument Culture: International Perspectives on the Future of Monuments in a Changing World

Nicola Clewer adds complexity and a needed investigation into large-scale public memorialization that appears to provide insight into the past, but instead, supports contemporary nationalism. Her case studies offer insights into the economics of memorials in urban locations and into the problematic nature of creating sublime spaces for public memory sites. This book provides readers with a necessary set of concerns that should be addressed when visiting any memorial. --Teresa Bergman, Chair of the Communication Department and Professor of Communication, University of the Pacific Nicola Clewer's work examining urban postmodern monument culture is indispensable. By providing a theoretical framework for the concept of the sublime as applied through comparative analysis, Clewer shows how memorials in the neoliberal state from the 1980s onward reify traditional uses of the past to fulfill contemporary ideological and political needs. --Laura A. Macaluso, editor of Monument Culture: International Perspectives on the Future of Monuments in a Changing World Nicola Clewer adds complexity and a needed investigation into large-scale public memorialization that appears to provide insight into the past, but instead, supports contemporary nationalism. Her case studies offer insights into the economics of memorials in urban locations and into the problematic nature of creating sublime spaces for public memory sites. This book provides readers with a necessary set of concerns that should be addressed when visiting any memorial. Nicola Clewer's work examining urban postmodern monument culture is indispensable. By providing a theoretical framework for the concept of the sublime as applied through comparative analysis, Clewer shows how memorials in the neoliberal state from the 1980s onward reify traditional uses of the past to fulfill contemporary ideological and political needs.

Nicola Clewer's work examining urban postmodern monument culture is indispensable. By providing a theoretical framework for the concept of the sublime as applied through comparative analysis, Clewer shows how memorials in the neoliberal state from the 1980s onward reify traditional uses of the past to fulfill contemporary ideological and political needs.--Laura A. Macaluso, editor of Monument Culture: International Perspectives on the Future of Monuments in a Changing World

Author Information

Nicola Clewer gained an MA in the History of Art from the Courtauld Institute of Art in 2006. In 2016 she completed her PhD at the University of Brighton, where she teaches on the following degree programmes: BA Humanities; BA History of Art and Design; MA Cultural and Critical Theory; MA Cultural History, Memory and Identity. She co-edited Certoma, Clewer and Elsey (eds.) The Politics of Space and Place (2012).

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