The Lives of Monuments: Memory, Revolution, and Our National Parks

A Recorded Virtual Event

The Yorktown Victory Monument is one of several Revolutionary War Monuments featured in these recorded presentations. View and read more in the articles below.

NPS Photo

The National Park Service cares for over three thousand monuments and memorials, more than any other institution in the country. As the park service prepares for nationwide celebrations marking the 250th Commemoration of the American Revolution, it faces the challenge of interpreting hundreds of Revolutionary War monuments. What can these sites tell Americans about who we were, who we are, and who we aspire to be?

In answer to these urgent questions, Dr. Emma Silverman organized the virtual event program “The Lives of Monuments: Memory, Revolution, and Our National Parks.” The series brought together scholars, national park staff, and community members in the spring and summer of 2021. Each event featured a discussion of one Revolutionary War monument as the starting point for broader conversations about American memory, identity, and belonging. Explore the links below to view selected recordings from the program.

“The Lives of Monuments” was made possible through the National Park Service in part by a grant from the National Park Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. For more about the Mellon Humanities Fellow Program, visit the National Park Service page and the National Park Foundation page. To learn more about Dr. Silverman’s work, please follow this link to her personal webpage.