Commemorating the American Civil War

Since around 2004, my main area of research has been on contemporary literature and film of the Spanish Civil War and Francoism. Therefore, whenever I hear "civil war," my first reaction is to think of Spain. The American Civil War (1861-65) is, quite frankly, something that has never really piqued my interest. I guess when I think of this period of American history, the image that comes to mind is my high school A.P (advanced placement) history class, where the teacher spent a large part of the period reading the newspaper while we "did homework." I did not learn anything in that class, and I did not get college credit for it either (instead, in college, at the wonderful suggestion of an adviser, I ended up taking "Black Experience I and II," which were two of the best history classes never taught in high school -- at least, not mine). In addition to my dreary high school history experience, the American Civil War also brings to mind Civil War re-enactments or the burning passion some still feel for the Confederate flag. It's difficult for me to relate to the desire to live or pay homage to our history in either of these ways.

Over the past few weeks, I have begun to notice more and more mentions of the American Civil War. One of my favorite poetry sites, Poetry Daily, featured James Doyle's "Civil War Photograph." I heard that the USPS will be releasing commemorative Civil War stamps in 2011. And today's NYT features a new occasional series, "Disunion," which "follows the Civil War as it unfolded." Of course, the renewed interest in the war is due to the fact that 2011 is the 150th anniversary of its beginning. We are sure to see an increase in the number of films, publications and commentary -- and probably, commemorative activities -- on the war.

The 150th commemoration of the start of the American Civil War comes at a time of extreme political vitriol in the United States. It is not at all surprising to encounter some rather casual and more explicit Civil War allusions in the verbal sparring between Democrats, Republicans and Tea Partiers and in the neo-confederate tributes to the so-called "War for Southern Independence" such as the ones below:

• April 2010: governor Bob McDonnell (R-VA) declares "Confederate History Month," failing to mention slavery as a cause for the Civil War 
• June 2010: in reference to the Arizona immigration bill, Glenn Beck claims "I think we're headed for a civil war"
• October 19, 2010: Time magazine publishes the commentary "Will the Federal Reserve's Ben Bernanke Cause a Civil War?"
• December 2010: South Carolina's "Secession Gala," which remembered the state as the first to secede from the U.S., was met by protests (of course, "states' rights" is a huge Tea Party focal point, so it's a convenient way to tie the Civil War memory to current day agendas)

I must admit, I feel a new interest in learning about the American Civil War, thanks to studying the Spanish Civil War -- and particularly, how it continues to be remembered. But as with the SCW, I am especially intrigued by how the memory of war continues to mark the contemporary political landscape. Obviously, there is quite a difference between "remembering" a war that began 150 years ago and one that occurred in the 20th century (2011 is 75 years since the start of the war in Spain). The case of Spain is complicated, besides, by 36 years of dictatorship, the "pact of silence" and the fact that mass graves continue to be uncovered today (though of course, a majority of these graves are not from the war itself, but the brutal postwar repression). In the U.S., no one can say they recall the war, while in Spain, the war's survivors have passed or will do so soon. Nonetheless, the shelf life of a civil war is long. 150 years may seem like an eternity, but  many are more than happy to make the past quite present, if only to help feed current political interests. In that, Spain and the U.S. have something in common.

New Publication: "Memorial Mania"

Erika Doss
Memorial Mania. Public Feeling in America
488 pages © 2010

In the past few decades, thousands of new memorials to executed witches, victims of terrorism, and dead astronauts, along with those that pay tribute to civil rights, organ donors, and the end of Communism have dotted the American landscape. Equally ubiquitous, though until now less the subject of serious inquiry, are temporary memorials: spontaneous offerings of flowers and candles that materialize at sites of tragic and traumatic death. In Memorial Mania, Erika Doss argues that these memorials underscore our obsession with issues of memory and history, and the urgent desire to express—and claim—those issues in visibly public contexts.

Doss shows how this desire to memorialize the past disposes itself to individual anniversaries and personal grievances, to stories of tragedy and trauma, and to the social and political agendas of diverse numbers of Americans. By offering a framework for understanding these sites, Doss engages the larger issues behind our culture of commemoration. Driven by heated struggles over identity and the politics of representation, Memorial Mania is a testament to the fevered pitch of public feelings in America today.

Seen on: University of Chicago Press

40th Anniversary of May 4, 1970

May 4, 2010 is almost over, and yet, I cannot let this day pass without writing at least a few lines (in fact, it will be May 5 by the time this is posted). Today was the 40th anniversary of the Kent State shootings. Although I was not even born yet, I am tied to the events of that day for two reasons - my uncle was a journalism student at Kent State in 1970, and I graduated with two degrees from the university in the 1990s. In 1995, I attended and participated in the 25th year commemoration of the shootings. I often think that my interest in memory goes back to my early experiences at the university, and the yearly debates that surfaced about what to do -- or not -- to commemorate May 4 (photo of students running for cover in a May 4 parking lot)

During my six years in Kent, my feelings about May 4 evolved and matured, as I listened to professors, students, family members, townspeople and poets bear witness (my uncle NEVER talked about May 4 -- it was, in a sense, his secret). As a first-year student, I went to an initial meeting of the "May 4th Task Force," but I was not involved in politics at the time, and I felt that I would need to be were I to become a part of the group. Later, I participated in a silent candelight procession on May 3 around the perimeter of the campus, which ended in the parking lot where the students were shot. This was one of the most moving moments of my time as a Kent State student.

Over the past few days, I have barely been able to keep up with the articles and reports on May 4. Rather than attempting to review the multiple articles out there on Kent State, I will just post links to several, most of which are from the greater northeast Ohio area:

• "Kent State and May 4: a new generation refuses to forget" (in Scene - part 1)
• "A 40-Year Old Tragedy and the Wounds that Never Heal" (in Scene - part 2)
• "On 40th Anniversary of Kent State Shootings, Truth Tribunal Seeks Answers" (in Democracy Now)
• "Kent State Shooting Divided Campus and Country" (on NPR)
• "Shots Still Reverberate for Survivors of Kent State" (on NPR)
• "Vietnam War Still Stirs Passionate Divisions at Kent State May 4 Events" (in Cleveland Plain Dealer)
• "Lives Interrupted" (in Akron Beacon Journal)
• "Kent State: Coming of Age 40 Years after May 4, 1970 Shootings that Stunned America" (in Cleveland Plain Dealer)

The flood of articles is, of course, due to the anniversary year. However, the increased press is also because the May 4 site has recently been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and a new "walking tour" has been constructed to facilitate doing what the stones of the memorial state -- "inquire, learn, reflect." A "visitors' center" is also planned, which will be housed in Taylor Hall, the journalism building that sat in the middle of the protests and the fatal shots.

I am glad that the University has taken steps to acknowledge visibly the physical markers of May 4, or to give voice to those places where a story has been missing. For example, when I was a student at Kent, everyone knew to "look for the bullet hole," and yet, this hole remained unidentified to the everyday observer. I have not yet returned to Kent to visit the campus and see how the tour is laid out, but it seems to be designed to enhance engagement with and reflection on the past, as well as with the present. Kent State did not happen in a vacuum, and hopefully, the tour will provide an appropriate historical context for the events of May 4, so that the memorial and eventual "visitors' center" can be as interactive as possible. A few pictures:

from the KSU website

May 4 Memorial, dedicated 1990 (photo here)

Without a doubt, it is essential to learn what happened on May 4, 1970 in Kent, Ohio.* Unfortunately, part of the learning has, until now, often involved "picking a side," with the choices being "innocent students" versus "evil National Guard." After all this time, hopefully we can do better than that. There are so many ways we can link the local tragedy of May 4 to the national tragedies war produces. When we learn about one May 4, we inevitably find out about others, much like Ariel Dorfman opened many Americans' eyes with The Other September 11.

When we remember the 4 students killed 40 years ago at Kent State, we should take the time to inquire about other unjust deaths, including those perpetrated by our own country. I agree with and like the "Inquire, Learn, Reflect" statement on the stones that form part of the 1990 May 4 Memorial. But perhaps, 20 years after that memorial was unveiled, Kent State is showing the university is ready to go beyond reflection, toward action.

What will it mean to make May 4 a "historical site"? This summer, I plan a visit to Ohio. I will report back with more detailed observations then. For more, see the Kent State May 4 Center website here and the university's Center for Applied Conflict Mangagement.

*Laurel Krause, the sister of one of the May 4 victims, has set up a "Kent State Truth Tribunal: "We hope the Kent State Truth Tribunal will help to heal those involved, establish cause and effect, and shed light on responsibility for the events that transpired on May 4, 1970. We have not set out in pursuit of punitive justice, but rather the restorative justice that comes from collective sharing and healing. The Truth Tribunal honors those whose lives have been directly affected by the killings and also marks the importance of Kent State as an influential chapter in the history of protest, democracy, civil rights and public security in the United States."

In memory of R.B.

Call for Papers for Summer Conference

Lucas Manuel Bietti, who runs the fascinating research blog Collective Memory Project has posted the following information that readers of this blog may also find useful:

Death, Commemoration and Memory: an Exploration of Representation, Concept and Change Call for Papers: Death, Commemoration and Memory: an Exploration of Representation, Concept and Change

Thursday 24 and Friday 25 June 2010

The Death, Commemoration and Memory (DCM) Research Group is based within the School of Arts, Culture and Environment at the University of Edinburgh. Founded in 2008, DCM provides a forum for postgraduates and staff whose research engages with any aspect of the Group’s remit, attracting junior and senior scholars from a variety of academic disciplines. Building upon the Group’s success, a two‐day conference is planned in Edinburgh for June 2010 to provide a platform for further interdisciplinary discussion and to create new networks between researchers across the world.

Topics for discussion may include, but are not limited to:

- Acts of commemoration, mourning practices and rituals

- The social aspects of individual memory, collective memories and cultural attitudes towards memory

- The ethics and etiquette of death studies: the treatment of human remains in archaeology, pathology and museum practice

- Death in the visual arts: commemoration through architectural and artistic practices

- Poetic, literary and musical interpretations of death

- The dichotomy between history and memory

- Psychological and sociological studies of bereavement

We welcome abstracts of 300 words on any aspect of the conference’s themes, accompanied by a short academic resume of 200 words maximum. Applications should be sent to dcm.ed@hotmail.co.uk with ‘DCM CONFERENCE’ as the email’s subject. Submission deadline: 12 March 2010.

A Different Kind of Anniversary - 20 Years Since the Death of Ceausescu

In contrast with the last article on Stalin....

Somewhere, I recall reading that collective memories begin to take shape some 20-30 years after a traumatic historical event has taken place, because it is the time necessary for a generational shift to occur.

From: BBC News

Romania marks sombre anniversary

By Nick Thorpe
BBC News, Bucharest

The people of Romania are marking the 20th anniversary of the 1989 revolution which brought down Nicolae Ceausescu.

Small commemorations have been held at cemeteries and sites associated with the revolution in several cities, including Bucharest and Timisoara.

President Traian Basescu referred to more than 1,100 people who died during the revolution, as he was sworn in for a second, five-year term in office.

He told parliament the full truth was not known about the bloody uprising.

Those responsible for the deaths had not been punished, he added.

Speaking of the people killed in 1989, Mr Basescu said: "Their sacrifice was the foundation stone of today's democratic institutions."

He made his speech in the House of the People, built by the former dictator Ceausescu, which dominates central Bucharest.

Only a handful of top army and secret police officials were ever put on trial over the events of the revolution.

Two army generals began a 15-year sentence only last year.

There is a sense in Romania that the revolution is disappearing into the history books - and that gives a new urgency to this year's celebrations.

They come as a BBC investigation has disclosed that many Romanian orphans who came to international prominence in the 1990s after the end of communist rule are still in institutional care and living in appalling conditions.

The report uncovered widespread evidence of neglect, with some patients left bed-bound and lying in their own faeces.

Many of the thousands of unwanted babies who were left in state orphanages under communist rule are now in adult institutions.

The Romanian government says it is committed to upholding the rights of those with disabilities.

130th Birthday of Joseph Stalin - "Let's remember the good times"

The "money quote" from this tidbit is the final line. Wow. You can't get much more blatant than that when talking about amnesia and politics. Now might be the time to mention that this sort of request to forget does not just involve erasing the sins of former dictators, but also, those of former democratic leaders. Amnesia is an ideologically-neutral practice (not sure if "practice" is the right word here, but it will do for now).

From: The New York Times
Russia: A Celebration of Stalin
by Clifford J. Levy
published December 21, 2009

The Communist Party celebrated the 130th birthday of Joseph Stalin on Monday with an appeal for people not to bring up the more unseemly aspects of his record. Stalin is a polarizing figure in Russia, still popular for winning World War II and industrializing the Soviet Union while reviled for the purges that killed or displaced millions of people. On Monday, the Communists sought to focus on the achievements, lining up in Red Square to lay flowers on his grave, above. “We would like very much on this day for the discussion about any mistakes of the Stalin era to stop, so that people can reflect on the personality of Stalin as a creator, thinker and patriot,” said Ivan Melnikov, a senior party official.