Analyze primary sources documenting issues of racial violence or Civil War romanticization from Reconstruction-1900 and compare them to the installation or removal of memorials in the last 20 years. Through this comparison, you will be examining the intersection of historical events (primary sources material) with social memory and commemoration (memorial installation/removal), providing insight into the way societies grapple with their past, confront racial injustice, and shape collective memory.
Select one of the two topics (Racial Violence or Civil War Remembrance). Discuss the primary sources associated with that issue and how the sources fit in and reflect the social climate of the time they were written. Then reflect on the continuity and change of that issue in America today by discussing the installation or removal of a memorial or monument in the last 20 years. Be sure to address the current social climate and issues surrounding the memorial’s installation or removal as well as artistic choices (when applicable), and community response. For the memorial portion you are responsible for finding your own sources and citing them. You should include at least three (consider news articles, press releases, any text on or near the memorial, artist explanation/interviews, and social media responses).
