Sites of Conscience Place, Memory, and the Project of Deinstitutionalization

Punzi, Elisabeth (Editor)/ Steele, Linda (Editor)

ISBN 10: 0774869321 / ISBN 13: 9780774869324

Published by Univ of British Columbia Pr, 2024

About this Item

302 pages. 9.01x6.01x1.06 inches. In Stock.

Seller Inventory # x-0774869321

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Sites of Conscience Place, Memory, and the Project of Deinstitutionalization
• Publisher: Univ of British Columbia Pr
• Publication Date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0774869321
• ISBN 13: 9780774869324
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Brand New
• Weight: 0.58 kilograms

About this title

Synopsis

How activities in and around government-run care facilities can help former residents heal after their closure.

Into the twenty-first century, millions of disabled people and people experiencing mental distress were segregated from the rest of society and confined to residential institutions. Deinstitutionalization—the closure of these sites and integration of former residents into the community—has become increasingly commonplace. But this project is unfinished. Elizabeth Punzi’s powerful work explores the use of the concept of sites of conscience, which involves place-based memory activities such as walking tours, survivor-authored social histories, and performances and artistic works in or generated from sites of systemic suffering and injustice. These activities offer new ways to move forward from the unfinished deinstitutionalization project and its failures. 

Covering diverse national contexts, Sites of Conscience proposes that acknowledging former residents’ memories and lived experiences—and keeping institutions’ histories and social heritage alive rather than simply closing sites—holds the greatest potential for recognition, accountability, and action.

About the Authors

Elisabeth Punzi is a clinical psychologist and an associate professor in the Department of Social Work and the Center for Critical Heritage Studies at Gothenburg University, Sweden.

Linda Steele is an associate professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia. She is the author of Disability, Criminal Justice, and Law.