What (Counter) Monuments for Feminism? The Debates over Monumental Commemoration and the Search for New Feminist Memory Frameworks
At the intersection of memory and feminist studies, this article examines the issue of suffrage and feminist monumental commemoration in the United States. Starting from the deficit of statues representing female historical figures in the public space, it analyzes the conception and reception of two...
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2024-10-01
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| author | Claire Sorin |
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| description | At the intersection of memory and feminist studies, this article examines the issue of suffrage and feminist monumental commemoration in the United States. Starting from the deficit of statues representing female historical figures in the public space, it analyzes the conception and reception of two important monuments honoring women’s suffrage (Portrait Monument 1921 and the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument 2020). While those monuments have somewhat broken the “bronze ceiling”, they testify to the mechanics of exclusion and inclusion at work both in the construction of history and memory. Then, the article takes on a broader perspective, questioning the extent to which traditional monuments, as products of a patriarchal culture and memory, can properly commemorate modern feminism. The essay identifies two trends, one consisting of transforming the bronze through various strategies, the other of “breaking the bronze” by replacing it with other materials and proposing new memory frameworks belonging to what James E. Young has labeled countermonuments. Still, the article ultimately questions the limits of the monument itself and points to the notion of interactive <i>spaces</i> as perhaps the most adequate sites of memory for the complex, multifaceted, contested, and contemporary movement that feminism(s) stand(s) for. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-407e75b7843448b693bb1bbf90d190fd |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2409-9252 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Histories |
| spelling | doaj-art-407e75b7843448b693bb1bbf90d190fd2025-08-20T02:00:46ZengMDPI AGHistories2409-92522024-10-014444746410.3390/histories4040023What (Counter) Monuments for Feminism? The Debates over Monumental Commemoration and the Search for New Feminist Memory FrameworksClaire Sorin0Laboratoire d’Études et de Recherche sur le Monde Anglophone (LERMA), Aix-Marseille University, LERMA, 29 Av. Robert Schuman, 13100 Aix-en-Provence, FranceAt the intersection of memory and feminist studies, this article examines the issue of suffrage and feminist monumental commemoration in the United States. Starting from the deficit of statues representing female historical figures in the public space, it analyzes the conception and reception of two important monuments honoring women’s suffrage (Portrait Monument 1921 and the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument 2020). While those monuments have somewhat broken the “bronze ceiling”, they testify to the mechanics of exclusion and inclusion at work both in the construction of history and memory. Then, the article takes on a broader perspective, questioning the extent to which traditional monuments, as products of a patriarchal culture and memory, can properly commemorate modern feminism. The essay identifies two trends, one consisting of transforming the bronze through various strategies, the other of “breaking the bronze” by replacing it with other materials and proposing new memory frameworks belonging to what James E. Young has labeled countermonuments. Still, the article ultimately questions the limits of the monument itself and points to the notion of interactive <i>spaces</i> as perhaps the most adequate sites of memory for the complex, multifaceted, contested, and contemporary movement that feminism(s) stand(s) for.https://www.mdpi.com/2409-9252/4/4/23monumentsmemorywomen’s suffragefeminismintersectionalityhistory |
| spellingShingle | Claire Sorin What (Counter) Monuments for Feminism? The Debates over Monumental Commemoration and the Search for New Feminist Memory Frameworks Histories monuments memory women’s suffrage feminism intersectionality history |
| title | What (Counter) Monuments for Feminism? The Debates over Monumental Commemoration and the Search for New Feminist Memory Frameworks |
| title_full | What (Counter) Monuments for Feminism? The Debates over Monumental Commemoration and the Search for New Feminist Memory Frameworks |
| title_fullStr | What (Counter) Monuments for Feminism? The Debates over Monumental Commemoration and the Search for New Feminist Memory Frameworks |
| title_full_unstemmed | What (Counter) Monuments for Feminism? The Debates over Monumental Commemoration and the Search for New Feminist Memory Frameworks |
| title_short | What (Counter) Monuments for Feminism? The Debates over Monumental Commemoration and the Search for New Feminist Memory Frameworks |
| title_sort | what counter monuments for feminism the debates over monumental commemoration and the search for new feminist memory frameworks |
| topic | monuments memory women’s suffrage feminism intersectionality history |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2409-9252/4/4/23 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT clairesorin whatcountermonumentsforfeminismthedebatesovermonumentalcommemorationandthesearchfornewfeministmemoryframeworks |