Present Pasts: Urban Palimpsests and the Politics of Memory Book

Present Past: Urban Palimpsest and the Politics of Memory Andreas Huyssen
Andreas Huyssen looks into the domain of historical memory to argue that in the era of cultural globalisation monuments, buildings, government palaces, museum and parks represent the material traces of historical memory. The fact that in the 19th and in the first half of 20th century, nation-states looked to construct monuments, artefacts and memorials in order legitimize and give meaning to the state building process'politically, socially and culturally'has been radically transformed in the wake of, what critics call, memory boom. The emergence of memory as a key cultural and political concern gained currency with the rise of Holocaust Studies. Since then, it has been a revisionist political process initiated by governments to acknowledge the injustice done to certain communities, tribes and sects. The resultant outcome had been a proliferation of various monuments, memorials and parks that adorn various cities in the world. Huyssen discusses Berlin against the backdrop of the Second World War to read cities as texts that are being continuously written and rewritten to accommodate its past. Theoretically, it is quite impossible to saturate monuments and museums with memories since these structures embody the images of the past.at the same time, however, monuments and museums lose their significance as they become mere tourist spots that embellish the city, rather they strengthening public consciousness against a wrong done.