Transnational American memories

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This volume features twenty original essays by experts in American memory studies from the U.S. and Europe, expanding discussions on U.S. cultures of memory, commemorative identity construction, and the politics of remembrance into the realm of transnational and comparative American studies. It addresses theoretical developments since the 1990s, including the pictorial and spatial turns, alongside multicultural and international perspectives on American history. The contributions examine the cultural productivity and political implications of both officially sanctioned memories and practices of oppositional remembrance. By analyzing sites of memory connected to the United States as crossroads of transnational and intercultural commemoration, the essays highlight their potentially controversial roles in cultural exchange and political negotiation across various spatial, temporal, and ideological contexts. The interdisciplinary topics covered range from literary texts and personal narratives to cultural performances spanning from colonial times to the present. Additionally, the significance of war monuments and ethnic memorials in Europe, Asia, and the U.S., films about 9/11, public sculptures, fine arts, and American world’s fairs as transnational memory sites are explored.