The Great War

History 1040

Week #14

November 30: 

In this class we will deal with the with Memory and Mourning in Post-Conflict societies and the "construction of memory"of the war. In particular, we will deal with how societies and individuals coped with and shaped the memory of the war.  To do this we will break up into groups in the classroom and construct Memorials related to the Great War.  Then we will have each group come to the front of the room and explain their design and why they designed their memorial they way they did.

For Thursday's class

Be prepared to discuss the following comments based on your readings and also the work you did in creating your memorials:

"We are standing on the graves of the dead and they have us by the ankles and won't let us go." 

As part of this discussion we will attempt to answer the question:  "Who Owns the Dead?" 

These may appear strange questions to deal with this in the class, but these will be very important for understanding all wars and conflicts, especially after the conflicts end.  Because as we will discuss, whoever owns the dead owns the past and thus owns the present.

In a follow-up from Tuesday's class we will deal with the implications of "The Construction of Memory" for the post-war world and even our world today. 

As part of this we will deal with the question and statements above. 

In particular, we will discuss as one former revolutionary combatant once said:  "We are standing on the graves of the dead and they have us by the ankles and won't let us go."  As part of this discussion we will attempt to answer the question:  "Who Owns the Dead?"