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Academic Year 2004/2005

Grounding the Past: Monument, Site and Historical Memory
ARHA 383 FA
Crosslistings:
ARCP 383

The peculiar power of monuments and cultural sites arises from their status as tangible objects and places that simultaneously belong to both past and present. Because of their ability to collapse time and make the past present, these types of objects often function as "sites of memory", providing the foci around which social memory condenses and histories are constructed. This course explores the varied links between monuments, cultural sites, and historical memory, through consideration of both theoretical writings and a number of specific cases from South Asia and other parts of the world. Among the themes to be discusses are: the nature of the monument and the relic; the perception of age; the typology of mnemonic modes and the role of the body and place in structuring memory; the discourses of antiquarianism and cartography as they relate to the spatial organization of historical memory; the notion of cultural property and the social practices surrounding its preservation and destruction; and the politics of contested sites.

MAJOR READINGS

Key readings will include excerpts from D. Lowenthal, THE PAST IS A FOREIGN COUNTRY; E.S. Casey, REMEMBERING: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY; S. Schama, LANDSCAPE AND MEMORY; A. Momigliano, "Ancient History and the Antiquarian"; M. Edney, MAPPING AN EMPIRE: THE GEOGRAPHICAL CONSTRUCTION OF BRITISH INDIA, 176501843; UNESCO, WORLD HERITAGE CONVENTION; J. Greenfield, THE RETURN OF CULTURAL TREASURES; R. Layton et al., DESTRUCTION AND CONSERVATION OF CULTURAL PROPERTY; and K. Warikoo, ed., BAMIYAN: CHALLENGE TO WORLD HERITAGE; and excerpts from my work in progress on the antiquarian and historiographic activities of a 19th century Brahman scholar and the monuments of Warangal (see below).

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Two short papers, occasional presentations; research project.

COURSE FORMAT: Seminar

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: HA CHUM    Grading Mode: Graded   

Prerequisites: NONE Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-21-2005

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