Ethics and Cultures of Commemoration

Assistant Professor Deborah Goldgaber Department of Philosophy & Religious Studies

How do we remember (and forget) the past? How is cultural or public memory shaped and constructed? What is its value? Are their specifically cultural forms of memory? Do we have duties to remember (and forget?) and if so, how can we fulfill these obligations? How are cultural and public forms of commemoration linked to political and moral issues of justice? All of these questions deal with issues of public memory and cultures of commemoration, a burgeoning, trans-disciplinary field that investigates the way memory forges political and social solidarities, senses of time and place, and how these interact with the built and natural environment. In this course, we will study sites of public memory—with a specific focus on Louisiana.