Dissertation Defense - Stephanie Gibson, "Reconciliation and Healing: Monuments of Trauma, Loss, and Resistance in the Black Atlantic"

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Abstract: This dissertation explores the ideological underpinnings and material constructions of monuments and sites of memory that have been created in the last thirty years in Africa and its diaspora. The dissertation examines the ways in which architects and designers have faced the challenge of memorializing culturally important, yet morally disturbing, painful periods in Black history. The project comprises a number of case studies in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Johannesburg, South Africa; Dakar, Senegal; and Montgomery, Alabama. The architects, designers, and curators of the sites discussed recognized the important role that place and space play in Black memory and as such have employed various methods—ranging from urban design to abstraction—in order to educate, influence, or undo the trauma wrought by white supremacy and colonialism.