HIST 375A: Histories of Memories in the 19th Century

This course will examine histories of memories during the “long” nineteenth century (1789-1918) through the institutions and technologies that facilitate recall: museums, photography and cinema, print media and visual culture, as well as academic disciplines which emerged in western civilizations to study memory phenomena, such as history, psychology, archaeology, paleontology and more – many of which were created in the 19th century.  The emergence of modern notions of time and its rapid pace of change will be considered alongside practices of preservation, conservation and the creation of memorials and monuments. Topics may include: the human body as a site of memory (tattoos, funerary practices); Napoleonic and Civil War memorials; theories of extinction; the first public museums; time capsules; tourism and souvenirs; the foundations of the modern university.