Case Study: Rome's House of Memory and History: The Politics of Memory and Public Institutions

Author(s):  
Alessandro Portelli

This article centers around the case study of Rome's House of Memory and History to understand the politics of memory and public institutions. This case study is about the organization and politics of public memory: the House of Memory and History, established by the city of Rome in 2006, in the framework of an ambitious program of cultural policy. It summarizes the history of the House's conception and founding, describes its activities and the role of oral history in them, and discusses some of the problems it faces. The idea of a House of Memory and History grew in this cultural and political context. This article traces several political events that led to the culmination of the politics of memory and its effect on public institutions. It says that the House of Memory and History can be considered a success. A discussion on a cultural future winds up this article.

Urban History ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 431-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHN FOOT

ABSTRACTThe micro-history of one apartment block in the inner-suburb of Bovisa, Milan over a period of 100 or so years is examined using oral history interviews to trace the development of the block and its residents in relation to that of the city of Milan. The piece is bounded by theoretical reflections on the role of micro-history, oral history and other methodologies as tools for understanding the home and urban history, and concludes that the survival of a rural past, the role of gender, the importance of architecture and of nostalgic memory in a rapidly changing world were important influences.


2019 ◽  
pp. 82-94
Author(s):  
Dave Maund

This paper studies the migration history of the members of a single family, who moved between north Herefordshire and what is now the west Midlands conurbation. The research reported here makes use of oral history and diary evidence to describe the migration decisions made by members of the family, especially in the early and mid twentieth century. It elucidates the role of 'place' and the attraction to particular places in those decisions and provides a case study that exemplifies many of the migration processes which were characteristic of the population of England and Wales at that time.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 137
Author(s):  
Caroline Spry ◽  
Jillian Garvey ◽  
Emmy Frost

Warning Aboriginal and Torres Strait readers of this article are warned that it may contain images of ancestral remains. Compiling a history of archaeology is critical for evaluating, understanding and contextualising the current state of the discipline. While oral histories provide vivid accounts of people, events and decisions from sources with direct relationships to these moments in time, they have played a limited role in building historical narratives of archaeology as a discipline. A moderated conversation between Emeritus Professors David Frankel and Jim Allen and Professor Susan Lawrence on the early and more recent history of archaeology at La Trobe University, Melbourne, held during the university’s 50th anniversary celebrations in 2017, provides a glimpse of the discipline’s past, present and future in Australia. This paper presents the key themes and topics from this conversation with accompanying excerpts, providing an important case study of how oral history can assist with archiving this discipline.


Author(s):  
Ilona Bidzan-Bluma

Objective: It is estimated that twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) occurs in 10–15% of monochorionic twin pregnancies. One of the fetuses takes on the role of donor and the other of recipient. The treatment administered involves serial amnioreduction and laser photocoagulation of the communicating blood vessels. After TTTS, children may have deficiencies in psychomotor functioning, in particular in cognitive functions, expressive language, and motor skills. Few scientific reports indicate that twins after TTTS do not demonstrate significant differences in tests which measure intellectual functioning. Methods: The cognitive functioning of twins in the late childhood period was compared using the following tools: an analysis of their medical history, an interview with their parents, and neuropsychological tests allowing the evaluation of their whole profile of cognitive functions. Case Study: Cognitive functioning in the late childhood period was analyzed in a pair of 11-year-old male twins (juvenile athletes), a donor and a recipient, who had developed TTTS syndrome in the prenatal period. Results: Comparison of the cognitive functioning profile of the donor and recipient revealed that children with a history of TTTS develop normally in terms of cognitive and motor functioning in late childhood. A comparative analysis of the donor and recipient was more favorable for the recipient, who had a higher level of general intelligence, visual–motor memory, and semantic fluency. Conclusions: The fact that both the donor and the recipient chose to pursue athletics suggests that gross motor skills are their strongest suit. Playing sports as a method of rehabilitation of cognitive function of children born prematurely after TTTS could contribute to the improvement of cognitive functioning.


2018 ◽  
Vol 95 (3) ◽  
pp. 2-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Wiese

Place-based activism has played a critical role in the history of urban and environmental politics in California. This article explores the continuing significance of environmental place making to grassroots politics through a case study of Friends of Rose Canyon, an environmental group in San Diego. Based in the fast-growing University City neighborhood, Friends of Rose Canyon waged a long, successful campaign between 2002 and 2018 to prevent construction of a bridge in the Rose Canyon Open Space Park in their community. Using historical and participant observer methodologies, this study reveals how twenty-first-century California urbanites claimed and created meaningful local places and mobilized effective politics around them. It illuminates the critical role of individual activists; suggests practical, replicable strategies for community mobilization; and demonstrates the significant impact of local activism at the urban and metropolitan scales.


Istoriya ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (11 (109)) ◽  
pp. 0
Author(s):  
Vladimir Pechatnov

Based on previously unearthed documents from the Russia’s State Historical Archive and the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire the article explores the history of the first Russian Orthodox parish in New York City and construction of Saint-Nickolas Russian Orthodox Cathedral in the city. It was a protracted and complicated interagency process that involved Russian Orthodox mission in the United States, Russia’s Foreign Ministry and its missions in the United States, the Holy Governing Synod, Russia’s Ministry of Finance and the State Council. The principal actors were the bishops Nicholas (Ziorov) and especially Tikhon (Bellavin), Ober-Prosecutor of the Holy Governing Synod Konstantine Pobedonostsev and Reverend Alexander Khotovitsky. This case study of the Cathedral history reveals an interaction of ecclesiastical and civil authorities in which private and civic initiative was combined with strict bureaucratic rules and procedures.


2016 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 503-527
Author(s):  
E. JAMES WEST

This article explores the role ofEbonymagazine as a key staging ground for competing political and ideological debates over Martin Luther King Jr's legacy, and the struggle for a national holiday in his name. In doing so, it provides an important case study into the contestations between what Houston Baker has described as “black critical memory” and “black conservative nostalgia.” In response to attempts by Ronald Reagan and other politicians to reimagine King as an advocate for color-blind conservatism,Ebony’s senior editor, Lerone Bennett Jr., sought to situate King's legacy within a radical “living history” of black America. However, the magazine's broader coverage of the King holiday movement betrayed underlying tensions within its discussion of King's legacy, and fed into the magazine's role as an inadvertent frame for color-blind ideologies during the 1980s.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uroš Radosavljević ◽  
Aleksandra Đorđević ◽  
Kseniјa Lalović ◽  
Jelena Živković ◽  
Zoran Đukanović

Using heritage as a cultural artifact in city development is not new, but little has been explored about how urban heritage can be utilized as new generative value and a new planning instrument for the revival of cities. The purpose of this paper is to show the creative and the generative use of urban heritage, both for the extension of cultural and tourist offer of the city and for the improvement of the quality of life in physical, social and economic terms for the community. The case study method was used for the adaptive reuse of projects for heritage buildings and urban revival in Kikinda. We argue that urban heritage has to be used, bearing in mind its spatial, economic and social sustainability aspects, and become a generator of urban revival. We go beyond recognition of the value of heritage as a cultural artifact that should solely be preserved and used as a static element in urban development, and view it more as a dynamic asset for city revival processes. We found that for the heritage nodes to be utilized as the new generative value for the revival of cities, they have to be perceived from the network perspective, thus influencing the urban environment in a sustainable way.


2020 ◽  
pp. 7-32
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Kulczyńska ◽  
Natalia Borowicz ◽  
Karolina Piwnicka-Wdowikowska

Morasko University Campus in Poznań – origin, spatial and functional structure, transport solutions The purpose of the paper is to characterize the most recently created part of the Adam Mickiewicz University – the Morasko Campus. The paper consists of three parts. The first concerns the origins and development of the campus. The second part presents its spatial and functional structure on the basis of a field inventory, while the third one – campus transport solutions based on a survey conducted among students. The history of the campus located in the northern, peripheral part of the city began with laying the foundation act and the cornerstone in 1977. The agricultural role of this area, dominant until the 1980s, has been replaced with new functions, mainly academic and scientific ones. The first university buildings were commissioned in the 1990s, and the construction boom began after 2000. A total of nine faculties (out of 21 existing) are housed in eight buildings in the campus, including exact and natural sciences, as well as a part of social sciences and humanities. To this day, neither student dormitories nor accommodation for PhD students have been constructed (although they are likely to be built), which would emphasize the academic function of the campus. The campus also comprises areas with recreational, sports, residential and other service functions (e.g. catering, beauty, hairdressing, and commercial services), which are complemented by areas that serve transport functions. Location in the northern periphery of the city, and above all the railway line for freight (the northern bypass of Poznań) separating the city from the campus, makes transport to this part of the city limited. The results of the survey revealed a lack of a safe bicycle path between the western and eastern part of the campus, insufficient number of parking places for motorists, a lack of paved roads from the north and west, only three narrow access roads for car commuters, and difficult access by public transport to the eastern and north-eastern parts. In the latter case, the planned extension of the tram line towards Umultowo after the year 2022 is expected to solve the problem. Zarys treści: Celem opracowania jest charakterystyka najmłodszej przestrzeni Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza – Kampusu Morasko. Opracowanie składa się z trzech zasadniczych części. Pierwsza część artykułu dotyczy genezy powstania i rozbudowy miasteczka uniwersyteckiego. W drugiej części przedstawiono strukturę przestrzenno-funkcjonalną kampusu w oparciu o inwentaryzację terenową, w trzeciej zaś obsługę transportową na podstawie badań ankietowych przeprowadzonych wśród studentów. Historia położonego w północnej, peryferyjnej części miasta kampusu rozpoczęła się od wmurowania aktu erekcyjnego i kamienia węgielnego w 1977 r. Dominująca do lat 80. XX w. funkcja rolnicza tego obszaru została zastąpiona przez nowe funkcje, głównie akademickie i naukowe. Pierwsze budynki dydaktyczne oddano do użytku dopiero w latach 90. ubiegłego wieku, a boom budowlany rozpoczął się po roku 2000. Swoją siedzibę znalazły tutaj nauki ścisłe i przyrodnicze, a także część nauk społecznych i humanistycznych, w sumie dziewięć wydziałów (na 21 istniejących) w ośmiu budynkach. Do dzisiaj nie wybudowano akademików czy domu doktoranta (choć istnieją realne szanse na ich powstanie), co podkreśliłoby funkcję akademicką kampusu. W strukturze kampusu wyróżnia się ponadto obszary o funkcjach rekreacyjnych, rekreacyjno-sportowych, mieszkaniowych i innych o charakterze usługowym (np. usługi gastronomiczne, kosmetyczne, fryzjerskie, handel), których uzupełnieniem są obszary o funkcjach komunikacyjnych. Położenie na północnych peryferiach miasta, a przede wszystkim linia kolejowa dla przewozów towarowych (północna obwodnica Poznania) oddzielająca miasto od kampusu sprawiają, że obsługa transportowa tej części miasta jest ograniczona. Wyniki badań ankietowych wskazują na brak bezpiecznej drogi rowerowej między zachodnią i północno-wschodnią częścią kampusu, niewystarczającą liczbę miejsc parkingowych dla zmotoryzowanych, brak utwardzonych dróg od strony północnej i zachodniej, zaledwie trzy wąskie wjazdy na kampus dla dojeżdżających samochodem czy utrudniony dojazd komunikacją publiczną do części wschodniej i północno-wschodniej. W tym ostatnim przypadku rozwiązaniem ma być planowana po 2022 r. rozbudowa linii tramwajowej w kierunku Umultowa.


Author(s):  
Łukasz Wróblewski ◽  
Andrzej Kasperek

The article discusses the issue of the sustainable development of the cross-border market for cultural services in a city divided by the state border. The article uses the example of Cieszyn and Český Těšín, a city divided following the decision of the Council of Ambassadors in 1920. The research carried out so far indicates the main constraints in the harmonious functioning of the cross-border market for cultural services in this city, such as: different cultural policies implemented on both sides of the city, language barriers as well as legal and administrative differences. Therefore, the authors undertook research aimed at recognising the role of Euroregional structures in stimulating the sustainable development of this region. On the basis of the analysis of the Cieszyn Silesia Euroregion's documentation and the results of qualitative and quantitative research, the article describes the role of the Euroregion in building a cross-border market for cultural services. Recommendations were also prepared that could constitute the principles of a common cultural policy not only for Cieszyn and Český Těšín, but also for other European cities in the Schengen Area, which, like Cieszyn and Český Těšín, have been divided by a state border.


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