Christopher Columbus statue in Providence, Rhode Island

Call for Proposals
for a new edited volume
Monument Culture: International Perspectives
on the Future of Monuments in a Changing World

In 2017, a year of difficult and often appalling events both on the national and international stage, monument culture unexpectedly became the centerpiece of discussion, protest, activism, and vandalism. Scholars and preservationists witnessed monument culture move from the margins to the center of society, both in the United States and in many other countries around the world.

In order to capture contemporary approaches and attitudes to the quickly shifting terrain of monument culture, the American Association for State and Local History and Rowman & Littlefield have contracted a collection of essays, to be published in late 2018 under the title Monument Culture: International Perspectives on the Future of Monuments in a Changing World. The purpose of the edited volume is to acknowledge shared experiences through a wider perspective; to contribute to the work of the worldwide heritage community; and to document through publication the evolving approaches towards monument culture across the world, encouraging a more informed understanding of monuments and their meanings, especially useful for those outside of academia, including cultural heritage professionals and the interested public.

Columbus Day Parade protest, New Haven, CT, 1992

The geographic locale, time period, and disciplinary method is wide open—essays will be selected for a diverse yet balanced presentation of approach, place, material form, and subject matter. Essays should be accessible and provide content for meaningful discussions, helping readers to understand public monuments with contested meanings. Potential contributors should focus on presenting their topic for the use of museum and other heritage professionals as well as an informed public. In order to capture contemporary monument culture interest and use, the timeline for publication is brisk and is as follows:

  • Call for Proposal circulates, with a deadline of December 17, 2017
  • Contributors selected for inclusion in edited volume contacted by December 31, 2017
  • Essays of approximately 3,500 to 4,000 words with accompanying image(s) and permissions due to editor by February 28, 2018

Editor Laura A. Macaluso, Ph.D. is the author of books and essays on art and history, with a focus on monuments, murals, and museums. This work includes Art of the Amistad and the Portrait of Cinqué (AASLH/Rowman & Littlefield, 2016) and the The Public Artscape of New Haven: Themes in the Creation of a City Image (McFarland, 2018).

Please send your questions and/or your 250-word proposals with a two-sentence biography by December 17, 2017 to [email protected]