Re-writing history? Monuments, iconoclasm, and social justice movements in 2020
The destruction, removal and re-interpretation of monuments has drawn the world’s attention and they have often been flash points for intense political and social debate as public symbols of white supremacy.
This seminar series aims to provide a snapshot of the long history of monuments, protest and oppression and explore the historical significance of this moment.
The seminars
Seminar leader
Dr Rebecca Senior is an art historian based in the University of Nottingham's Department of Cultural, Media and Visual Studies.
She holds a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Henry Moore Foundation, and specialises in visual cultures of violence, monuments, sculpture and material histories.
Profile
Website
Seminar one
Explores histories of monument destruction and looks at how monuments “work” as objects.
Trigger warning: video contains content about anti-Black racism, the Confederacy, the Ku Klux Klan, white supremacism
Related resources
Seminar two
We look at how historical monuments “work” in the present and asks what are their intentions as art objects with histories of white supremacy, colonialism and imperialism. We also examine the fate of monuments in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement. Examples include #RhodesMustFall and Confederate monuments and symbols.
Trigger warning: discussions of anti-Black racism, violence and murder, white supremacy and terrorism, police violence and murder, slavery and the mention of names of murder victims and people who are no longer alive.
Related resources
Seminar three
February 2021 - live session and interactive workshop.
Seminar four
Mach 2021 - live session and interactive workshop.