FORMATION OF HISTORICAL MEMORY IN THE US SOCIETY THROUGH URBAN PUBLIC SPACE (LATE XIX – XXI CENTURY)

DOI 10.17721/2521-1706.2023.16.2

Artem Kosheliev

Ph. D. (History), Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine

ORCID logo https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6713-9993

Abstract. The article addresses the issue of memory policy functioning in the USA. Through the example of shaping public spaces in various states and regions of the country, the process of decision-making regarding the creation of monuments and memorials is analyzed. The aim of the article is to identify the connection between the axiological orientations of different social groups in the country and their emphases in the implementation of memory policy in the public spaces of cities. An attempt is made to demonstrate the significance of general processes of societal democratization in creating memory sites, and specific examples trace the shift in meanings embedded in already established monuments and memorials.

The scientific novelty of the study lies in analyzing the role of US civil society in shaping images of historical figures in the public spaces of cities during different periods of state development.

The methodological basis of the article is the synthesis of socio-cultural history and the study of memory policy. In particular, it involves the analysis of the formation of historical memory in the public spaces of cities in the context of general processes of societal spiritual life, its experience, and values.

Conclusions. The formation of public spaces in American cities and filling them with monuments to historical figures occurred in a decentralized manner. The investigation of this aspect of the issue attested that different regions of the country developed their interpretations of the past, which correlated with the different value orientations of individual state regions. It does not mean that there are no points of intersection in perceptions of the historical past in the USA. Still, local peculiarities significantly influenced on local communities’ formation of public spaces.

Key words: US history, historical memory, public space of cities, societal value orientations, societal democratization.

Submitted: 17.04.2023

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