Public History for a Post-Truth Era: Fighting Denial through Memory Movements

315 Pages·2022·9.967 MB·English

by  Liz Sevcenko

PUBLIC HISTORY FOR
A POST-TRUTH ERA
Public History for a Post-Truth Era explores how to combat historical denial
when faith in facts is at an all-time low. Moving beyond memorial museums or
documentaries, the book shares on-the-ground stories of participatory public
memory movements that brought people together to grapple with the deep
roots and current truths of human rights abuses. It gives an inside look at
“Sites of Conscience” around the world, and the memory activists unearthing
their hidden histories, from the Soviet Gulag to the slave trade in Senegal. It
then follows hundreds of people joining forces across dozens of US cities to
fight denial of Guantánamo, mass incarceration, and climate change. 
As reparations proposals proliferate in the US, the book is a resource for
anyone seeking to confront historical injustices and redress their harms.
Written in accessible, non-academic language, it will appeal to students, edu-
cators, or supportive citizens interested in public history, museums, or move-
ment organizing.
Liz Ševcˇenko is the Founding Director of the Humanities Action Lab, currently
homed at Rutgers University-Newark, and was the Founding Director of the
International Coalition of Sites of Conscience. She organizes coalitions for his-
torical memory and redress, combining the visions and forces of people working
in public history, social movements, and transitional justice. She lives in Brooklyn.
Global Perspectives on Public History
Edited by Dr. Kristin O’Brassill-Kulfan, Rutgers University
This series explores the work of public historians and the contested histories
they engage with around the world. Authored by both scholars and practition-
ers, volumes focus on cases where complex histories and diverse audiences meet
and examine public representations of history. The series aims to link profes-
sional discussions of different historical methodologies with broader dialogues
around commemoration, preservation, heritage, and interpretation in diverse
geographical, cultural, social, and economic contexts. The co-existence of
both global and regionally specific volumes in the series highlights the wide
range of innovative new projects and approaches on offer. These books will
provide students, researchers, and practitioners with new case studies and
helpful analytical tools to confront the (mis)representations of history they
encounter in their work and as members of 21st-century communities.
Contested Commemoration in US History
Diverging Public Interpretations
Edited by Melissa M. Bender and Klara Stephanie Szlezák
Public in Public History
Edited by Joanna Wojdon and Dorota Wis´niewska
Public History in Poland
Edited by Joanna Wojdon
Public History for a Post-Truth Era
Fighting Denial through Memory Movements
Liz Ševcˇenko
PUBLIC HISTORY FOR
A POST-TRUTH ERA
Fighting Denial through
Memory Movements
Liz Ševcˇenko
Cover image: Dasha Nagorodnyuk, courtesy Humanities Action Lab
First published 2023
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Liz Ševcˇenko
The right of Liz Ševcˇenko to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other
means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this title has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-032-02922-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-02921-4 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-18582-6 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003185826
Typeset in Bembo
by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd.
For Hugo and Margot
Tay&lF orra ncis
Tay&lFo rra nGcriosu p
http://taylorandfrancis.com
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
PART I
Sites of Conscience 25
1 Snapshots from Memory Movements at the Turn of the
Millennium, Album 1: Heritage and Human Rights in
New York, Nottinghamshire, Buenos Aires, and Cape Town 27
2 Snapshots from Memory Movements at the Turn of the
Millennium, Album 2: Truth without Accountability
in Bangladesh, Czech Republic, Russia, the US, and Senegal 48
3 Defining Memory, Dialogue, and Action 72
4 Assessing Impact 94
PART II
Guantánamo Public Memory and Reckoning
with “Who We Are” 115
5 How GTMO’s History Has Been Shaped by Denial: Public
Memory and Public Policy in America’s State of Exception 117
viii Contents
6 Remembering and Reckoning with GTMO 138
7 Mobilizing an International Memory Movement
for GTMO 156
PART III
States of Incarceration 181
8 Public Memory and the US Carceral State 183
9 Remembering Rikers: Participatory Public Memory
for Public Policy 214
10 Local Stories, National Genealogy: Memory Movements
against Mass Incarceration 233
PART IV
Climates of Inequality 259
11 Historical Denial and the Climate Crisis 261
Conclusion: Participatory Public Memory for Truth’s New Era 274
Appendix 282
Index 297
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This is a book about the power of coalitions: about the work of hundreds of
people across dozens of countries over two decades. But many played critical
roles that don’t come through in the narrative.
First, the people who worked in the central offices of the coalitions
described in the book, coordinating members’ collective work and individual
projects, and shaping the ideas and frameworks within which we collaborated.
After Ruth Abram and I got it off the ground, the International Coalition
of Sites of Conscience was coordinated by an incredible team including
Sylvia Fernández, Heidi Karst, Ereshnee Naidu, Max Novichenko, Olga
Rudenko, and Vivien Watts. Bix Gabriel came up with the idea for a mem-
ory project around Guantánamo and built its foundations. The Humanities
Action Lab (HAL) was brought from scattered inspiration to an organized
coalition through the astounding energy, intellect, and commitment of Julia
Thomas. Shana Russell, who managed States of Incarceration (SOI) and the
Rikers Public Memory Project, and Aleia Brown, who managed Climates of
Inequality (COI), brought their experience and creative brilliance as histori-
ans and organizers to reshape HAL’s priorities and practices. Margie Weinstein
managed all aspects of HAL while I was on leave writing and later homes-
chooling my kids during COVID lockdown, including guiding our coalition
through the pandemic.
There are over 1,000 faculty, students, issue organization leaders, and
scholar-advisors, who together created the HAL participatory memory pro-
jects described here. For the GPMP, see https://gitmomemory.org/about/
traveling-exhibit/#students; for SOI, see https://statesofincarceration.org/
university-partners; and for COI, scroll down to “Contributors” within each
local story: https://climatesofinequality.org/local-stories/.