⇒ Download Religion Violence Memory and Place Oren Stier J Shawn Landres 9780253347992 Books

Religion Violence Memory and Place Oren Stier J Shawn Landres 9780253347992 Books

Download As PDF : Religion Violence Memory and Place Oren Stier J Shawn Landres 9780253347992 Books

Religion Violence Memory and Place Oren Stier J Shawn Landres 9780253347992 Books

The editors of this collection very succinctly summarize the intended focus in their introduction where they state, "What links the essays together is a keen eye toward the exposure of contested memory as key to the sanctification, desanctification, and resanctification of space and place, brought about through violence and its subsequent social and cultural commemoration. Each chapter of this collection attends to the ways in which atrocities render places religiously charged, indigestible in their toxicity, while their commemoration creates of those sites sacred spaces, variously digestible in and through their memorialization and contestation" (9). The collection includes an impressive sweep of locations from Israel to Auschwitz, Hiroshima to Washington, D.C., South Africa, Rwanda, Bosnia, Armenia, Haiti, and Little Big Horn to Ground Zero.

It feels as if only three of the themes can be productively held in tension at a time. That is, one may think about religion, memory, and violence, but not place. One element always seems to slip away. Either religion is defined so broadly as to become almost meaningless, or violence fades into generalized structural violence, or place becomes less grounded (e.g. the Armenian Diaspora is theorized as a place). This undoes the editors' claim that all four themes are necessary. Still as a collection of essays, each dealing with some subset of the four themes, it raises interesting questions.

The most successful at integrating all four themes is Terry Rey's chapter on the monument to refugees in Port au Prince Haiti. Perhaps sedimentation of the various elements is a better way to understand what is under consideration. The specific site references violence, religion, and memory in multiple cross-referencing registers. The other chapter that most clearly falls within the intersection of religion, memory, violence, and place is Tania Oldenhage's chapter on German Christians' Holocaust commemoration.

The back cover says, "examines the religious memorialization of violent acts that are linked to particular sites." But this is not strictly true. Sometimes the memorialization is not religious in nature but a memorialization of violence that took place in the name of religion. Or, the place in question might be the site of memorial, not the site of the original violence. Rather, these essays should be seen as meditations on the various possible intersections of the four themes.

The first argument the editors make is for the importance of (and to date relative absence of) memory in religious studies. The second argument is that religion is an essential component of memory. It is unclear that religious studies has as much to contribute to studies of memory as understanding memory can contribute to religious studies. Indeed, the editors can only say about memorial that "such activity is often religious in nature" (6). "All of the essays in this volume consider memory as a cultural product emerging from the negotiations and contestation of meaning within religious frameworks at specific sites marked by violent histories."

They insist that religious studies be included, but do not prove that such inclusion is strictly necessary. Indeed, in my own work in post-war Sierra Leone for example, religious responses to violence have most often been against memorialization, the argument being "let's leave everything to God." The violence visible in the bodies of amputee beggars in the streets of Freetown is shameful to many Sierra Leoneans. The beggars say, "Do for God," not invoking the violent past in their speech. So, I agree with the authors that time is important, but sometimes it is forward looking rather than memorial.

The volume succeeds as an interdisciplinary collection of essays, all obliquely addressing the same issues, but does not succeed in arguing for the centrality of religious studies as a discipline for understanding memory, violence, and place.


Tags : Religion, Violence, Memory, and Place [Oren Stier, J. Shawn Landres] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <P>Sites of violence often provoke conflicts over memorialization. These conflicts provide insight into the construction and use of memory as a means of achieving public recognition of past wrongs. In this groundbreaking collection,Oren Stier, J. Shawn Landres,Religion, Violence, Memory, and Place,Indiana University Press,0253347998,Counseling,Memory.,Religion.,Violence.,Memory,Non-Fiction,RELIGION Counseling,Religion,Religion & beliefs,Religion - Socialissues,Religion General,Religion Religion, Politics & State,Religion, Politics & State,ReligionEthics,Religion: general,UNIVERSITY PRESS,United States,Violence

Religion Violence Memory and Place Oren Stier J Shawn Landres 9780253347992 Books Reviews

The editors of this collection very succinctly summarize the intended focus in their introduction where they state, "What links the essays together is a keen eye toward the exposure of contested memory as key to the sanctification, desanctification, and resanctification of space and place, brought about through violence and its subsequent social and cultural commemoration. Each chapter of this collection attends to the ways in which atrocities render places religiously charged, indigestible in their toxicity, while their commemoration creates of those sites sacred spaces, variously digestible in and through their memorialization and contestation" (9). The collection includes an impressive sweep of locations from Israel to Auschwitz, Hiroshima to Washington, D.C., South Africa, Rwanda, Bosnia, Armenia, Haiti, and Little Big Horn to Ground Zero.

It feels as if only three of the themes can be productively held in tension at a time. That is, one may think about religion, memory, and violence, but not place. One element always seems to slip away. Either religion is defined so broadly as to become almost meaningless, or violence fades into generalized structural violence, or place becomes less grounded (e.g. the Armenian Diaspora is theorized as a place). This undoes the editors' claim that all four themes are necessary. Still as a collection of essays, each dealing with some subset of the four themes, it raises interesting questions.

The most successful at integrating all four themes is Terry Rey's chapter on the monument to refugees in Port au Prince Haiti. Perhaps sedimentation of the various elements is a better way to understand what is under consideration. The specific site references violence, religion, and memory in multiple cross-referencing registers. The other chapter that most clearly falls within the intersection of religion, memory, violence, and place is Tania Oldenhage's chapter on German Christians' Holocaust commemoration.

The back cover says, "examines the religious memorialization of violent acts that are linked to particular sites." But this is not strictly true. Sometimes the memorialization is not religious in nature but a memorialization of violence that took place in the name of religion. Or, the place in question might be the site of memorial, not the site of the original violence. Rather, these essays should be seen as meditations on the various possible intersections of the four themes.

The first argument the editors make is for the importance of (and to date relative absence of) memory in religious studies. The second argument is that religion is an essential component of memory. It is unclear that religious studies has as much to contribute to studies of memory as understanding memory can contribute to religious studies. Indeed, the editors can only say about memorial that "such activity is often religious in nature" (6). "All of the essays in this volume consider memory as a cultural product emerging from the negotiations and contestation of meaning within religious frameworks at specific sites marked by violent histories."

They insist that religious studies be included, but do not prove that such inclusion is strictly necessary. Indeed, in my own work in post-war Sierra Leone for example, religious responses to violence have most often been against memorialization, the argument being "let's leave everything to God." The violence visible in the bodies of amputee beggars in the streets of Freetown is shameful to many Sierra Leoneans. The beggars say, "Do for God," not invoking the violent past in their speech. So, I agree with the authors that time is important, but sometimes it is forward looking rather than memorial.

The volume succeeds as an interdisciplinary collection of essays, all obliquely addressing the same issues, but does not succeed in arguing for the centrality of religious studies as a discipline for understanding memory, violence, and place.