Memories of movements are created and maintained through an array of commemorative practices. Historical markers, memorials, murals and other visual signs mark public space, encouraging the celebration or acknowledgement of past people or events or admonishing society not to forget a traumatic or difficult past. Recently, fiftieth anniversaries of significant national events like the March on Washington or the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. have served as occasions for remembering, (re)interpreting and (re)negotiating the past in a variety of ways.

The focus of this course will be on the meaning and legacy of the civil rights movement in contemporary U.S. society. We will analyze the processes and politics involved in the commemoration of the movement, examining recent commemorative projects like the Legacy Museum in Montgomery and exploring the latest controversies over the removal of Confederate monuments in the South.