Decommissioning Monuments, Mobilizing Materialities

Abstract

New memories emerge in relation to old ones. This means that undermining the power of hegemonic narratives is as crucial a part of memory activism as the bringing of hitherto occluded histories into visibility. This point is made by reference to the many ways in which public monuments have become the target of protest and the destruction of monuments a key feature of regime change. The very material presence of monuments explains why they can cause offense, but also why they provide a platform and a location for practicing dissent. The article ends by surveying the different strategies that can be deployed in order to change the meaning of existing monuments and bring alternative narratives into visibility.