Verified Document

How To Commemorate History Essay

¶ … Memorials There are events throughout history that are tragic, historic and/or are forever burned into the minds of those that experience and witness them. The burning question asked by many is how to (or how NOT to) commemorate and memorialize such events. Just a few examples of events that could be cited are the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Columbine shootings and 9/11. This report shall compare and contrast the perspectives of Marschall and Mitchell. While people generally agree that remembrance of the fallen and of events is a good thing, the "how" that is used to do that is sometimes a question with many different answers.

Marschall has her primary focus, at least initially, on the aftermath and memorials relating to South Africa and the time of Apartheid. Indeed, she notes that "many new monuments and memorials have been built or proposed since the advent of the post-apartheid era." Further, it is noted that many of the monuments (proposed or actual) are meant to commemorate events in history and to remember those that died. Marschall expands a bit on page 147 by stating that "images of the past common serve to legitimate a present social order" (Marschall,...

Parts of this document are hidden

View Full Document
svg-one

Quite often, images and happenstances of the negative event are created or preserved so that people can see for themselves the people, places, things and events that defined what is being remembered or memorialized. Marschall then talks about the "foundation myth" and how it can actually refer to things that are technically true. Further, they are events that are usually pretty recent rather than events that were a long time ago. However, how (or whether) to preserve these memories is far from something that people have a monolithic and simple opinion about. The introduction made a reference to the Berlin Wall and this source was the idea behind that name-dropping. Indeed, some people think the remnants of the wall should be preserved while others thing that the rest of the destruction should be completed once and for all (Marschall, 2006).
The other source takes a similar approach in that there is a focus on memorials and an even that is firmly burned into the minds of many people. However, the event is much more recent and much more relevant to Americans as the event in question was 9/11. Indeed, there is talk about several acres of property were damaged or destroyed,…

Sources used in this document:
References

Marschall, S. (2006). Visualizing Memories: The Hector Pieterson Memorial in Soweto. Visual Anthropology, 19(2), 145-169. doi:10.1080/08949460600598695

Mitchell, K. (2003). Monuments, Memorials & The Politics of Memory. Urban Geography, 24(5), 442-459.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Urban Geography - The 2002
Words: 2444 Length: 8 Document Type: Essay

Aftermath As the city council was making its preparations to host the Olympics, various groups militated for the negative effects the endeavor would generate upon the city. They cited the necessity to invest large amounts of money from the national budget, which means that other charitable events and endeavors would be left aside. Another limitation is given by the fact that throughout the 17 days games, the businesses not directly

Urban Geography Trends in Baltimore
Words: 1105 Length: 3 Document Type: Research Paper

The Hispanics have also migrated away from their more sparse locales in the city to increase the population in the Hispanic southeast corner of the city, still living with a majority of whites (Hispanic 2000). Using this information we see that residential differentiation, especially between whites and blacks, has become more intense, sharpening the lines between the races in the residential communities of Baltimore City. Perhaps because of this increased

Urban Homelessness Amongst Children
Words: 1745 Length: 6 Document Type: Essay

IntroductionHomelessness in urban areas, particularly among children, is a significant issue facing major U.S. cities. As reported in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development�s annual homeless assessment report (2020), there were approximately 570,000 people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2019 in the United States. Furthermore, homelessness has recently increased nationwide, although the temporal changes in homeless rates exhibit considerable sub-national variations. For example, while homelessness

Urban Areas
Words: 1059 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Urban Area Globalization has created a profound impact on society. Through globalization, emerging markets continue to grow and develop. New and innovative products are created that provide solutions to societal problems. As such, wealth is created that is distributed to nations that provide services to humanity. As wealth is distributed, urban areas are created and cultivated. These cities, over time, become populated with the new inhabitants, and continue to thrive. The

Geography the Gobi Desert: Its
Words: 884 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

The rain, averaging only 2-4 inches annually, comes in seasonal bursts that sometimes result in flash floods. Temperatures throughout the Gobi Desert are equally extreme, with lows records at -40 degree Fahrenheit and highs of 113 degrees Fahrenheit (Sadler 76). All of these climatic and geologic forces have combined to shape the landscape throughout the Gobi Desert. They have created immense megadunes a quarter of a mile tall held

Geography of the United States
Words: 1983 Length: 6 Document Type: Term Paper

"Between and beyond these two large areas lie two more fields of great importance, the East Texas field and the Panhandle field in northwest Texas. Separate from these fields but also of major importance are those located in southern California. In the mid-1960s, exploitation of deposits of petroleum and natural gas was begun along the north Alaska slope." (Birdstall & Florin, 1992) This is not enough to sustain the American

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now