1. Hansen tells the story of Guantanamo with a strong theme of criticizing American imperialism. What are his suggestions for the roots of American imperialism? To what extent does he blame individuals or the American people as a whole? What are the contemporary implications of Guantanamo’s imperialist past? Could the narrative be colored by the […]

1. Why has there been an increasing need or wish for memorialization and the visitation of memorial museums/sites? What is the appeal in visiting these places and is the practice of memorialization indeed a more recent phenomenon? Does the proliferation of memorial museums aid their purposes or does the increased accessibility and familiarity (together with […]

Paul William’s Memorial Museums: The Global Rush to Commemorate Atrocities is the first text I’ve read which embarks on a systematic critique of museums erected to commemorate grotesque and murderous historical episodes. Up until this point, I’d never heard of anyone actively criticizing D.C.’s Holocaust Museum and the like. He touches on a multitude of […]

1. How and why do we memorialize events? What are the social and political consequences? 2. How important is specificity in presenting difficult histories? Does putting a face to a story deepen understanding?