This course explores histories that have been hidden or suppressed. We will take an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the similarities and differences in how people recollect, record, and commemorate the past both over time and across geographic space.

In the first part of the course we consider how knowledge is preserved when history is contested, and what occurs when that oppression ends. In the second part of the course we consider the role of collective trauma in shaping what is remembered and forgotten. In the third part of the course, we will explore the way public representations of the past are variably anchored to the physical landscape by studying public monuments and holiday calendars. In the fourth part of the course, we consider the mechanics of recovering hidden histories at the level of international institutions. What counts as truth and why? We will conclude the course by exploring how digital technologies are reconfiguring the ways that societies recollect and record the past. In this section, we will evaluate whether social memory is being globalized and whether it is still possible suppress contested versions of the past.

As a result of the seminar, students will gain the ability to:

• recognize hidden and unofficial histories.
• distinguish between kinds of social memory.
• appreciate how history and power shape the built landscape.
• understand the role of trauma in suppressing and revealing aspects of the past.
• critically evaluate the significance of technology for the way societies record the past.

Course Requirements:

Course evaluation will be based on a combination of active participation, short reading response papers, the analysis of a public historical monument, and a final paper pertaining to the students’ geographic area of interest.

Intended Audience:

International Studies Majors and Minors