Topics and Questions We Can Help You To Answer
Paper Instructions:
We have been looking at a number of monuments erected by rulers to commemorate their rule or their accomplishments. Sometimes these monuments have been pulled down or defaced by subsequent regimes. In the first assignment, you were asked to consider whether or not it made sense to preserve cultural heritage at the cost of human life, and to think about whether there might be some gray areas in terms of keeping a cultural landmark as a sign of respect and an acknowledgement of mutual humanity between the people who lived there and the invading or liberating army. To deface something or someone is to suggest that they are not important, and cannot participate in humanity. For this assignment, I would like you to consider the current debate over Confederate War Monuments, and think about whether or not they should be removed and how that removal should take place. Does removing these monuments have anything in common with some of the art that you have looked at thus far, particularly in West Asia/Near East where there were successive regimes?
Read the following articles and post a response essay to the topics.
https://hyperallergic.com/395627/robert-e-lee-confederate-monument-charlottesville/
https://hyperallergic.com/399061/confederate-monument-removal-op-ed/
The four essays on four very different types of war memorials: https://smarthistory.org/tag/a-level-war-memorials/
Your initial discussion board post should include the following:
1. A position statement: do you think that the Confederate monuments should be taken down? Why or why not? Please give several concrete reasons for either position.
2. A short discussion of of the three articles. Which one did you find most convincing? Why?
3. Evidence of further research. Do a google search or search in an online art magazine such as Hyperallergic or Artsy. What else were you able to find out from your search? Make sure you include the author, title of article, and source that you consulted outside of the assigned readings.
