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Commemorating Disaster and Disobedience: National Park Service Initiatives in the 21st Century*
Author(s) -
Doss Erika
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
social science quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.482
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1540-6237
pISSN - 0038-4941
DOI - 10.1111/ssqu.12258
Subject(s) - dissent , national park , service (business) , civil disobedience , political science , sociology , law , history , environmental ethics , archaeology , politics , economy , philosophy , economics
Objective This essay explores the ways in which memorial culture reflects contemporary attitudes about the United States and its history. Method An examination of the role of the U.S. National Park Service, which manages and maintains many American memorials, illustrates the evolving relationship between official memory and history. Memorials to dissent and disaster are considered as part of an emerging trend in American memorial culture in which trauma, conflict, and loss are commemorated. Results American memorial culture is increasingly driven by ethical imperatives to remember those believed to be forgotten or ignored in history.