Memorials Matter - Emotion, Environment and Public Memory at American Historical Sites Ladino Jennifer KPaperback / softback

From the sculptured peaks of Mount Rushmore to the Coloradan prairie lands at Sand Creek to the idyllic islands of the Pacific, the West's signature environments add a new dimension to the study of memorials. Chapters center around the region's diverse inhabitants (Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, African, and Native Americans) and the variously traumatic histories these groups endured--histories of oppression, exploitation, incarceration, slavery, and genocide. In such diverse and often dramatic landscapes, how do the natural and built environments shape our emotions?In Memorials Matter, author Jennifer Ladino investigates the natural and physical environments of seven diverse National Park Service (NPS) sites in the American West and how they influence emotions about historical conflict and national identity.

Drawing on material ecocritical theory, Ladino emphasizes the