We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
ARLINGTON'S CAIRN: CONSTRUCTING THE COMMEMORATIVE FOUNDATION FOR UNITED STATES' TERRORIST VICTIMS.
- Authors
Britton, Dee
- Abstract
National sites of commemoration provide visual representations of a nation's metanarrative; official memorials and monuments engrave important people and events in the nation's memorial landscape. Although memorials and monuments purport to depict community consensus regarding an event or person, in actuality these public representations reflect the perspective of those who gain control of the commemorative process. In order to fully understand the value and intent of any memorial, it is essential to examine those who produce and receive the memorial as well as the social context of both the commemorated event and the production of that memorial. The significance of the social context of commemoration is especially evident in the commemoration of American victims of terrorism. Until the September 11, 2001 attacks, the majority of Americans did not incorporate vulnerability to terrorism in their personal narratives. The September 11 attacks were not the first time that United States civilians were targets of terrorism; they were preceded by the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and the 1988 bombing of Pan American Airways Flight 103. This paper creates an analytic framework ("Memorial Worlds") that describes the conflicting intentions of various groups involved in commemorative activity. This framework is then utilized to examine the construction of the Memorial Cairn in Arlington National Cemetery, the first national memorial to American victims of terrorism.
- Subjects
UNITED States; CULTURAL property; NATIONAL cemeteries; MONUMENTS; CONSENSUS (Social sciences); TERRORISM; INTERNATIONAL crimes; PAN Am Flight 103 Bombing Incident, 1988; VICTIMS of terrorism
- Publication
Journal of Political & Military Sociology, 2007, Vol 35, Issue 1, p17
- ISSN
0047-2697
- Publication type
Article