Structures of Memory

Jennifer A. Jordan

ISBN 10: 0804752761 / ISBN 13: 9780804752763

Published by Stanford University Press, US, 2006

About this Item

In many different parts of the world people cordon off sites of great suffering or great heroism from routine use and employ these sites exclusively for purposes of remembrance. The author of this book turns to the landscape of contemporary Berlin in order to understand how some places are forgotten by all but eyewitnesses, whereas others become the sites of public ceremonies, museums, or commemorative monuments. The places examined mark the city's Nazi past and are often rendered off limits to use for apartments, shops, or offices. However, only a portion of all "authentic" sites-places with direct connections to acts of resistance or persecution during the Nazi era-actually become designated as places of official collective memory. Others are simply reabsorbed into the quotidian landscape. Remembering leaves its marks on the skin of the city, and the goal of this book is to analyze and understand precisely how.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780804752763

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Structures of Memory
• Publisher: Stanford University Press, US
• Publication Date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0804752761
• ISBN 13: 9780804752763
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 499 grams

About this title

Synopsis

In many different parts of the world people cordon off sites of great suffering or great heroism from routine use and employ these sites exclusively for purposes of remembrance. The author of this book turns to the landscape of contemporary Berlin in order to understand how some places are forgotten by all but eyewitnesses, whereas others become the sites of public ceremonies, museums, or commemorative monuments. The places examined mark the city’s Nazi past and are often rendered off limits to use for apartments, shops, or offices. However, only a portion of all “authentic” sites―places with direct connections to acts of resistance or persecution during the Nazi era―actually become designated as places of official collective memory. Others are simply reabsorbed into the quotidian landscape. Remembering leaves its marks on the skin of the city, and the goal of this book is to analyze and understand precisely how.

About the Author

Jennifer A. Jordan is Professor of Sociology and Urban Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.