Abstract
This article takes as its point of departure the recent wave of
contestations relating to colonial-era monuments in Europe. While the
toppling of monuments has long been a part of political regime change,
recent attacks on monuments need to be understood instead, not as
celebrations of a change that has already occurred, but as attempts to
affect ‘mnemonic regime change’ as part of a larger struggle for racial
equality and social justice. Monuments are materialisations of larger
narratives that operate within a broader culture of memory; at the same
time, they have a particular role to play in mnemonic contestations since
they offer a physical platform for public performances of adherence to,
or dissent from, dominant understandings of collective identity and
memory. Using insights from the field of cultural memory studies, this
article illustrates these dynamics with detailed reference to the
controversy around the Edward Colston statue in Bristol. It argues that
its dramatic toppling in June 2020 was part of a much longer and slower
two-track process whereby the narrative underpinning Colston was
undermined and an alternative narrative of Bristol’s complicity in the
slave trade was unforgotten. It concludes by reflecting on the
importance but also the limits of memory activism focussed on statues.
contestations relating to colonial-era monuments in Europe. While the
toppling of monuments has long been a part of political regime change,
recent attacks on monuments need to be understood instead, not as
celebrations of a change that has already occurred, but as attempts to
affect ‘mnemonic regime change’ as part of a larger struggle for racial
equality and social justice. Monuments are materialisations of larger
narratives that operate within a broader culture of memory; at the same
time, they have a particular role to play in mnemonic contestations since
they offer a physical platform for public performances of adherence to,
or dissent from, dominant understandings of collective identity and
memory. Using insights from the field of cultural memory studies, this
article illustrates these dynamics with detailed reference to the
controversy around the Edward Colston statue in Bristol. It argues that
its dramatic toppling in June 2020 was part of a much longer and slower
two-track process whereby the narrative underpinning Colston was
undermined and an alternative narrative of Bristol’s complicity in the
slave trade was unforgotten. It concludes by reflecting on the
importance but also the limits of memory activism focussed on statues.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 7-41 |
Number of pages | 35 |
Journal | Studies on National Movements |
Volume | 9 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2022 |
Funding
Funders | Funder number |
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European Research Council | ERC grant number 788572 Remembering Activism |
Keywords
- cultural memory
- counter-memory
- iconoclasm
- memoryactivism nexus
- Edward Colston