Contested Histories
Global Perspectives on the Past, Present and Future of Public Monuments
Will be published approx. on 17. September 2026
Book
Hardback
272 pages
978-1-350-40164-8 (ISBN)
Description
Examining case studies from Asia, Africa, North America, and Europe, this book explores the debates around the past, present and future of public monuments. Through the lens of the protests against controversial statues that peaked in 2020, it brings together scholars from disciplines including history, art history, classics, politics and philosophy to analyse the spatial, physical, and emotional interactions between monuments and people.
Including analysis of examples drawn from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Britain, India, Ireland, Italy, Libya, the Philippines, the United States, this book uncovers the role of public monuments in shaping national and individual identities, their role in public memory, and how they may be used to preserve or subvert chosen narratives about the past. Acknowledging how memorials may elicit a strong public reaction, the essays in this volume also consider instances of different actions when contesting public monuments - from small alterations to complete destruction. The volume uses contemporary examples to explore not only the pasts and presents of public monuments, but also their futures.
Including analysis of examples drawn from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Britain, India, Ireland, Italy, Libya, the Philippines, the United States, this book uncovers the role of public monuments in shaping national and individual identities, their role in public memory, and how they may be used to preserve or subvert chosen narratives about the past. Acknowledging how memorials may elicit a strong public reaction, the essays in this volume also consider instances of different actions when contesting public monuments - from small alterations to complete destruction. The volume uses contemporary examples to explore not only the pasts and presents of public monuments, but also their futures.
Reviews / Votes
This volume makes a valuable contribution to the academic discourse on the ways in which public narratives of the past have been challenged or reinforced by monuments of different kinds; a timely, engaging and evocative exploration of one of the most pressing and dynamic cultural issues of the 21st century. * Edward Madigan, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK * Contested Histories offers invaluable, deeply-researched contributions to urgent debates about the meaning and future of our public monuments. * Erin L. Thompson, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, USA * This is an impressive volume which provides a timely, distinctive, and thought-provoking intervention in an increasingly crowded scholarly field focused on monuments, statues, and memorials. With chapters exploring culturally and geographically diverse lieux de memoire, this volume will be essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the complex cultural politics bound up with commemoration and the public representation of historical events and figures. * Sam Edwards, Loughborough University, UK *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
Laminated cover
Illustrations
10 bw illus
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
387 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-40164-8 (9781350401648)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Tomas Irish is Professor in Modern History at Swansea University, UK.
Simon John is Associate Professor in Medieval History at Swansea University, UK.
Hannah Lyons is an independent scholar.
Simon John is Associate Professor in Medieval History at Swansea University, UK.
Hannah Lyons is an independent scholar.
Content
Contents
Acknowledgments
List of Contributors
List of Figures
1. Contesting the Past, Present and Future: Approaching Monuments Before and After Colston, Simon John and Tomas Irish (Swansea University, UK)
2. Striking Similarities! Public Statues, Human Bodies, and the Power of Monuments, Julie Deschepper (Utrecht University, The Netherlands)
3. Beyond Public Memory. Scars and Subversions of State-Sanctioned Monuments, Anna Calori and Carlo Andrea Tassinari (University of Glasgow, UK and University of Bologna, Italy)
4. The Counter-Monuments' Legacy: Democratic Monument Making in the 21st Century, Tanja Schult and Tim Cole (Stockholm University, Sweden and University of Bristol, UK)
5. 'This Libyanness in the Making': Septimius Severus, Libyan Identity, and the Contested History of a Twentieth-Century Statue, Kieren Johns (Independent Scholar)
6. 'This nation can be great again': President Marcos, the Quezon Memorial, and Philippine Martial Law, Kimberley Weir (University of Birmingham, UK)
7. What Black Statues Reveal about Whiteness in Washington, DC, Frederick W. Gooding, Jr. (Texas Christian University, USA)
8. When the State is the Agent of De-commemoration: the Case of the Vraca Memorial Park in Sarajevo, Tijana Okic (Independent Scholar)
9. Twin statues of Robert Clive and the Long History of Imperial Narratives in London and Calcutta, Jennifer Howes and Jayanta Sengupta (Independent Scholars)
10. Contending with coloniality and commemoration at Trinity College Dublin: Futures of Memorialisation in Ireland and Britain, Mobeen Hussain (University of York, UK)
Acknowledgments
List of Contributors
List of Figures
1. Contesting the Past, Present and Future: Approaching Monuments Before and After Colston, Simon John and Tomas Irish (Swansea University, UK)
2. Striking Similarities! Public Statues, Human Bodies, and the Power of Monuments, Julie Deschepper (Utrecht University, The Netherlands)
3. Beyond Public Memory. Scars and Subversions of State-Sanctioned Monuments, Anna Calori and Carlo Andrea Tassinari (University of Glasgow, UK and University of Bologna, Italy)
4. The Counter-Monuments' Legacy: Democratic Monument Making in the 21st Century, Tanja Schult and Tim Cole (Stockholm University, Sweden and University of Bristol, UK)
5. 'This Libyanness in the Making': Septimius Severus, Libyan Identity, and the Contested History of a Twentieth-Century Statue, Kieren Johns (Independent Scholar)
6. 'This nation can be great again': President Marcos, the Quezon Memorial, and Philippine Martial Law, Kimberley Weir (University of Birmingham, UK)
7. What Black Statues Reveal about Whiteness in Washington, DC, Frederick W. Gooding, Jr. (Texas Christian University, USA)
8. When the State is the Agent of De-commemoration: the Case of the Vraca Memorial Park in Sarajevo, Tijana Okic (Independent Scholar)
9. Twin statues of Robert Clive and the Long History of Imperial Narratives in London and Calcutta, Jennifer Howes and Jayanta Sengupta (Independent Scholars)
10. Contending with coloniality and commemoration at Trinity College Dublin: Futures of Memorialisation in Ireland and Britain, Mobeen Hussain (University of York, UK)