- Material memories and contested heritage: between history and memory politics
- Museums and difficult memories: how to exhibit the past?
- Colonialism and cultural heritage: the Italian case within global perspectives
- Bones and all: human remains and scientific and ethical issues
The senior seminar Material aspects of memory: cultural heritage and difficult legacies in contemporary European history explores how material traces (objects, sites, and human remains) serve as focal points in the construction and contestation of collective memory. Beginning with a broader reflection on memory politics and heritage practices in Europe, the course examines how societies engage with the legacies of 20th-century dictatorships through urban space, monuments, and toponymy. Case studies will include the Iberian Peninsula’s relationship with Francoism material traces and legacies of Salazar in Portugal, and a comparative look at Germany and Italy in preserving or erasing the material remains of their fascist pasts. The course then focuses on Italy’s colonial and fascist heritage, analyzing how these histories are made visible or silenced in museums and public discourse, and examining the afterlives of colonialism and fascism through their material legacies and public representations. A final session considers the ethical and political implications of displaying and studying human remains in museums and scientific contexts. Through interdisciplinary approaches, students are encouraged to critically engage with the complexities of memorialization, the responsibilities of heritage work, and the tensions between historical narratives and contemporary claims.
