Examining case studies from Asia, Africa, North America, and Europe, this book explores the debates around the past, present and future of public monuments. Through the lens of the protests against controversial statues that began in 2020, it brings together scholars from across the academy to analyse the spatial, physical, and emotional interactions between monuments and people.

Including analysis of examples ranging from the statue of Indro Montanelli in Milan, to monumentalisation of Mughal and British occupation in the Indian subcontinent, this book uncovers the role of public monuments in crafting national and individual identities, their role in public memory, and how they may be used to preserve or subvert chosen pasts. Acknowledging how memorials may elicit a strong public reaction, the essays in this volume also consider the merit of certain actions when contesting public monuments – from small alterations to complete destruction.

With a strong emphasis on the future, this volume also surveys how artists and activists have, in recent years, begun to pioneer digital and other innovative methods of monumental commemoration. Exploring contemporary performance art and installation work, such as Nicholas’ Galanin’s Shadow on the Land, it demonstrates how the digital age can bring a statue’s local impact to new, global audiences, and create a new form of memorialisation.

This volume makes a valuable contribution to the academic discourse on the ways in which public narratives of the past have been challenged or reinforced by monuments of different kinds; a timely, engaging and evocative exploration of one of the most pressing and dynamic cultural issues of the 21st century. * Edward Madigan, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK *

Tomás Irish is Professor in Modern History at Swansea University, UK.
Simon John is Associate Professor in Medieval History at Swansea University, UK.
Hannah Lyons is an independent scholar.