Introduction: Museums and Monuments: Memorials of Violent Pasts in Urban Spaces

This study reveals that memorialization practices in urban spaces are significantly influenced by transnational perspectives and cosmopolitan memory, which shape how contested histories are represented and debated. It explores the role of museums and monuments as political tools that construct historical narratives through preservation, education, and public exhibition, often reflecting complex social dynamics and power struggles. The research employs an interdisciplinary approach, analyzing case studies from Europe and the Americas to examine theoretical and methodological frameworks in memory studies. Key questions addressed include the motivations behind portraying contested history, the impact of transnational influences on memorialization practices, and how political forces and civil society activists shape public debates about representing a violent past.

Capdepón, Sierp, & Strauss. (2020). Introduction: Museums and Monuments: Memorials of Violent Pasts in Urban Spaces. History and Memory, 32(1), 5. https://doi.org/10.2979/histmemo.32.1.02