Teresa Bergman, "The Commemoration of Women in the United States" (Routledge, 2019)

On this episode of the New Books Network, Lee Pierce (s/t) interviews Teresa Bergman of the University of the Pacific on The Commemoration of Women in the United States: Remembering Women in Public Space (Routledge, 2019). Examining the public memorialization of women in the US over the past century, with a particular focus on the late twentieth century and early twenty first, the book includes six case examples of memorialization, and explores broad themes of cultural representation.

Bergman argues that the construction, or relocation, of a series of prominent national memorials together form a significant moment of change in the ways in which women are commemorated in the US. The historic and present-day challenges facing such commemoration are examined, with reference to broader political debates.

The case examples explored are the Women in the Military Service for America Memorial; the Women’s Rights National Historic Park; the Vietnam Veterans Women’s Memorial; the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park; the Eleanor Roosevelt Statue in the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial; and the Portrait Monument of Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

Providing insightful and grounded analysis of the history and practice of the commemoration of women in the US, this book makes useful reading for a range of scholars and students in subjects including heritage studies, communication studies, and history.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this interview and the book The Commemoration of Women in the United States.

Connect with the author @tbergman on Twitter and @teresa.bergman on Facebook.

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