Recent years in America have seen Confederate monuments toppled,
statues of colonizers vandalized, and public icons commemorating
figures from a history of exploitation demolished. Some were
alarmed by the destruction, claiming that pulling down public
statues is a negation of an entire cultural heritage. For others,
statue-smashing is justified vandalism against a legacy of
injustice. Monumental Folly confronts the long-neglected questions
of our relationship with statues, icons, and monuments in public
spaces, providing a rich historical perspective on iconoclastic
violence. Organized according to specific themes that provide
insights into the erection and destruction of statues - from
religion, war, and revolution to colonialism, ideology, art, and
social justice - author Matthew Fraser examines the implications of
our monuments from the Buddhas of Bamiyan to those of Napoleon
Bonaparte, Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Vladimir Lenin, and many
more. Above all, the book endeavors to frame moments of
statue-toppling throughout history so we can better understand the
eruptions of iconoclastic violence that we are witnessing today.
Statues are erected as expressions of power, and the impulse to
destroy them is motivated by a desire to defy, reject, and
eradicate their authority. However, the symbolic power of statues
can stubbornly persist even after their destruction. This enduring
paradox - between destruction and resurrection - is at the heart of
this book. Fraser concludes with reflections that propose new ways
of thinking about our relationship with statues and monuments and,
more practically, about how we can creatively integrate their
legacy into our collective memory in a way that inclusively
enriches shared historical experience.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
