What we choose to memorialize shapes national identity—and demands justice
A new UCL study argues that public monuments and memorials are not neutral historical records but powerful tools that define national identity and belonging. The research suggests policymakers must treat commemoration decisions as justice questions, since statues and ceremonies can either unite citizens or deepen social division through selective storytelling.
Originaltitel: Who and what should we remember? Public commemoration as a site of justice
Public commemoration is different from other goods that a state distributes or activities that states undertake, as it is a practice of memory, that involves ritualization, which focuses on emotional connection and identity formation rather than strict historical accuracy.It is among other things a way of enacting an emotionally resonant narrative about who 'we' are, by selecting and making special a particular interpretation of the persons or events commemorated.While public commemoration often functions to strengthen bonds of affiliation between individual citizens or between citizens and the state, it can also be a powerful source of alienation or shame, where what is selected for commemoration (and the stories told about it) reinforces a narrow, false or divisive conception of who 'we' are.As a result of these factors, public commemoration raises questions of justice that are both significant and distinctive.This paper provides an orientation for conceptualising such questions.