Brown Bag American Relics and the Material Politics of Public Memory 7 November 2012.Wednesday, 12:00PM - 1:00PM Matthew Dennis, University of Oregon

This project assesses American relics—publicly significant mortal remains and related artifacts—that have emerged and persisted since the colonial period.  American Relics will analyze the evolving meanings and deployments of American mementos mori and other potent objects.  Its interpretive narrative focuses attention on exemplary relics—whether ordinary or extraordinary—placing them in a broader context, using their histories to analyze the means through which Americans have used them to express and authorize their public words by making those words (literally) concrete.

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