Analysis of Sites of Historical Commemoration in Landscapes of Memorialization

University Of Oregon Eugene, Eugene OR

Investigators

Abstract

This project investigates how sites of commemoration are represented in landscapes of memorialization. The research analyzes historic sites, specifically sites on the National Registrar of Historic Places (NRHP) which, as part of cultural memory, provide a rich window into how the U.S. frames its past. Understanding how the past is commemorated and represented in landscapes of memorialization is crucial to achieving public trust and civic participation as it provides an opportunity to engage with U.S. history, how this history has been represented, what such representations mean, and how these vary. Research products include a publicly available database of all non-restricted sites on the NRHP that denote relevant nation-building events between 1513 and 1898, an historical atlas, and an accessible website. Graduate and undergraduate students are involved in the project and are trained in interdisciplinary research that combines archival methods with field-based landscape analysis. The research advances geographic scholarship by contributing to theory in historical geography, landscape studies, and related fields. The investigation first develops a database of all sites that denote relevant nation-building events between 1513 and 1898. While scholars have written about specific sites and events, there has been no analysis of the practices across the entire country or connecting such sites to the formation of the U.S. nation through its historical geography. Although the study uses a regional approach, the project is a national level investigation and provides data on commemorative practices for all 50 states. Sites will be analyzed and coded according to which forms of memorialization are associated with the site and how those processes are represented in the nomination materials. Not only will the study illuminate the diverse ways that memorialization is represented, it also highlights how the landscape is used in this process. Although this study is focused on the historical geography of the U.S., its underlying conception can be applied to many places, ensuring the generalizability of the results. Moreover, the proposed methodology, with minor modifications, offers a rigorous and robust way of analyzing cultural memory in any locale. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.