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Monuments, Memory, and Meaning: Contested Heritage in Political Transitions
Fri, October 24, 8:30 to 10:15am EDT (8:30 to 10:15am EDT), -Session Submission Type: Panel
Brief Description
Monuments serve as powerful instruments in the construction of historical narratives, the articulation of identities, and the legitimization of political power. In periods of political transition, whether following a regime change, war, or social upheaval, these objects of the past often become sites of contestation, generating debates about memory, their role in public space, and national history. The panel seeks to explore the manner in which societies negotiate the meanings of monuments across various historical and political contexts, drawing upon case studies from former Eastern Europe and the Baltic region.
Papers explore heritage dissonance in Bulgaria’s evolving monument culture, the shifting politics of socialist-era memorials in Czechia and Slovakia, the symbolic role of sacred fires in Latvian war commemoration between 1924 and 1940, and artistic reinterpretations of Soviet monuments in the Baltic states. Together, these studies offer a comparative perspective on how monuments are contested, reinterpreted, and transformed in response to political and societal change. By bridging heritage studies, memory politics, and artistic agency, this panel demonstrates the complex relationship between material culture and historical narratives, showing how societies grapple with the past to shape collective memory in the present.
Sub Unit
Chair
Papers
Heritage Dissonance as an Agent for Change: Forging Memories and Heritage Practices in Post-Socialist Bulgaria - Ina Belcheva, New Sorbonne U- Paris 3 (France)
'Sacred Fires' in Latvian War Commemoration, 1924-1940: A Case Study for a Global History of Eternal Flames - Mischa Gabowitsch, U of Mainz (Germany)
Negotiating the Socialist Era Monuments: Politics of Memory in Czechia and Slovakia - Petra Hudek, Inst of History SAS (Slovakia)
From Iconoclasm to Dialogue?: Artistic Reinterpretation of Soviet Monuments in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia - Kristina van Kuyck, Dublin City U (Ireland)