VIRTUAL: Prague Heritages
Abstract
This paper examines the spatial iconoclasm of public spaces, specifically the acts of toppling and vandalizing statues and monuments, as one of the spatial tactics used during conflicts and how the transformation of the everyday landscape of memorialization can change historical narratives to create new values and meanings. By analyzing a series of cases, this study compares the usage and the scale to which this strategy has been practiced in the recent events of the Black Lives Matter movement. What has happened during the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement is unique in its scope and momentum. The act of toppling confederate statues quickly spread across the country and abroad. This paper raises a series of questions, such as how statues and monuments become the focal points of cultural and political contestations? How does iconoclasm reshape urban environments during protest actions? Why do sculptures and memorials fall, and what are some spatial and political implications? How does the transformation of the everyday landscape of memorialization empower marginalized groups?
Taraneh Meshkani is an Assistant Professor at College of Architecture & Environmental Design at Kent State University. She holds a doctoral degree from Harvard Graduate School of Design and a Master of Architecture from the University of Toronto. Her doctoral dissertation focused on the Spaces of Conflict and the divergence of physical and digital spaces in times of unrest. Meshkani’s research examines the linkage of new information and communication technologies and their spatialities to the social and political processes of contemporary cities.
6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Wednesday 28th June, 2023