choose the Michael Jackson Memorial in either Munich or Budapest. I visited both during a vacation I took to both places. I’m a fan of Michael Jackson.
Digital Memorial Reflection: Europe can at times look like a continent of graves and memorials to the dead. There are also many monuments to triumphs small and large. I want to give you a chance to explore different sites of historical memory and study their history and potentially the politics of memory. I am extending the definition of site of memory/memorial to encompass the broadest possible definition.
Take some time to critically think about what has been memorialized. Choose one memorial; a term broadly conceived, that you have visited or may want to visit in the future. A memorial may be a building, a street, a statue—many things are potential sites of memory. I live one block from Kaiserslautern’s demolished synagogue now a memorial and site of memory. I can exit my apartment building and find a Stolpersteine or stumbling stone remembering a Jewish man who once lived in the building deported to a death camp. You seldom can make a corner at a base without encountering some form of memorialization. Three minutes’ walk from my apartment is a mural commemorating Otto von Bismarck. A brief walk and there’s a graveyard and Kleber Kaserne, two sites of memory and memorialization.
Try to think about what memorial you may want to address. It should relate to the 20th century of Europe defined broadly (the history of 20th century Europe doesn’t always have to be inside the European continent). It can relate to your personal or professional experiences. Upload a few images if possible. Share with the class a brief photographic reflection on the memorial. Reflect on the site, form, and significance of your memorial. Where was the memorial? Why was it there? How did it interact with the city/countryside, etc.? How did you encounter it? Was it possible to miss this memorial? Who paid for the memorial? Who pays for the upkeep of the memorial? Was there a controversy over the memorial? Is there still a controversy over the memorial? Is there a debate over changing this memorial? How did this memorial compare to others you have encountered? What was the significance of the memorial? What were your impressions of the memorial? How did the memorial reflect experiences? Do memorials to traumatic events or cruel human actions make their recurrence less likely? I’ll open space under one of the final week discussions for this assignment and you may upload the materials under midterm. Have some argument about the memorial–a thesis
